The Mind of the Dolphin [antikvár]

PREFACE ¦< ;!! . " . ' ii 1 .i l' ) ' Tffls BOOK is a record of an attempt to express some ideas, . ^ some formulations, and some experiments in communication research. In a sense this book is an extension of the previous book Man and Dolphin published by Doubleday in 1961. The main ideas and formulations are a theory to ' scientifically penetrate into the area of at least one nonhuman mind, that of the bottlenose dolphin. In order to solve the major problems of communication with a nonhuman mind, it is necessary to shed many cherished beliefs that man possesses. It is also necessary to develop a realistic set of theories to guide one in the pursuit of research into such a penetration. One must take into account the factors in the external reality and in the biology which mold and control the nonhuman species. : Experiments are recounted in which a dedicated woman and an enthusiastic young male dolphin live together for a period of a year. This book contains a detailed account of the problems and the results of living together in water. The mutual learning and teaching that were exchanged is given in some detail. This is another example* of a dedi- ', cated attempt to find means of commimication between a human and a nonhuman intelligence. In this book an attempt is made to show that one of the jj major blocks to the establishment of interspecies communication are the beliefs that man carries to this work. In many areas of science there is a basic belief that no species other than Homo sapiens is capable of speech, of Ian- ! * Other examples are the Kelloggs' and the Hayes' independent attempts with the chimpanzee (Pan satyms) (see Gilbert, 1966). > I : : ¦