Reviewed by Itzhak Hadani, Haifa, Israel
Sam Rakover is professor emeritus of Psychology at the University of Haifa, with vast experience in research on animals (e.g. mice, rats, fish) and humans. In his long academic career he has shown great interest in the philosophy of science and mind. In 1990, he published a highly significant book (Metapsychology: Missing links in behavior, mind and science, New York: Solomon) that treated the mind-body problem at length. His multifaceted background is expressed here in its serious attempt to develop a new methodology to understand the behavior of cats and humans. Among other things, this book tackles the question of whether a cat has consciousness. Furthermore, assuming that a cat does have consciousness, how can its consciousness be studied scientifically? R sets about the task by means of a captivating analysis of the behavior of Max—his pet Himalayan cat—and of other animals.
R develops a new, original, research approach called methodological dualism. It coherently unites mechanistic explanations (which appeal to neurophysiological and computational factors accepted in the exact sciences) with mentalistic explanations (which appeal to the individual’s inner world, his or her will, belief, intentions, purpose, and so on). Methodological dualism is based on three assumptions: (i) in empirical tests, the methodological status of mentalistic and mechanistic hypotheses are the same; (ii) schemas (i.e. models) of mentalistic explanation satisfy the requirements of scientific methodology like schemas of mechanistic explanation; and (iii) the complex behavior of humans and animals is explained by means of multi-explanation theory, which is based on schemas of mentalistic and mechanistic explanation.
R maintains that the multi-explanation theory is likely to provide a better explanation of the behavior under study than a theory based only on one kind of explanation, such as the mechanistic explanation accepted in psychology. He illustrates this advantage through an analysis of the behavior of Max the cat: R shows clearly and rightly that mentalistic explanations are needed for the cat’s behavior and that the mechanistic explanations are wanting.
R succeeds in achieving two significant scientific accomplishments. First, he demonstrates that animals have consciousness, although it may not reach the level of human consciousness. R establishes and justifies his position, which runs counter to that of the French philosopher René Descartes, who deemed animals as machines. R’s second accomplishment is the development of the multi-explanation theory. In a highly reasoned way, this theory satisfies all of the meticulous scientific requirements that suggest explanations for behavior. This is no mean achievement, and in my opinion, is theoretical work of the highest order. I hope that psychologists will study the paradigm underlying this theory and adopt it.
R’s writing style is not light, but this circumstance is a factor of the weight and complexity of the subject at hand. Apart from it, all who query whether a cat has a soul (or a mind) dispel all doubts: to paraphrase the popular adage, a cat has not one, but nine lives.