Do animals recognize their reflection in a mirror?

Bearing in mind the philosophical thesis, self-awareness is a crucial factor in human rationality, because it is the factor that allows us to understand what distinguishes us from other beings, a fact that makes us unique.

Based on this principle, understanding whether animals have this same gift goes beyond simple curiosity and involves understanding that this ability in an “irrational” animal can have a greater meaning.

Some animals are self aware

In 2006, a study was conducted in the United States to understand whether animals are able to recognize their own reactions. The experiment tested three The elephants Asians discovered that these animals were, in fact, able to recognize themselves.

To prove this thesis, the researchers marked the elephants with various symbols. The intent was to see if animals could identify their bodies.

The result is that the interaction between the animals and their reactions occurred consciously. The elephants seemed to understand that this was their mark. Between movements, elephants move their trunks from spot to mouth.

Some even seemed to study their own anatomy, as was the case with Maxine. This animal brought its trunk to its mouth in the mirror and, on another occasion, used its trunk to “pull” its ear. The movements were made slowly, as if the outbreaks were analyzing their reactions.

You are monkeys (a type of monkey without tails) has also been studied. The result of this research was interesting, as it was observed that only adult monkeys reacted to the reflex.

Furthermore, younger mammals appear to have not yet developed self-awareness, while older mammals seem to have lost it.

In addition to elephants and monkeys, she loves animals orcas And the dolphins They also showed this ability.

The question that now remains is: How far will this capability go? Would such animals be able to gain a deeper awareness of their existence?

To date, there is no answer to these questions. We can only hope that other studies will address this issue.