The other side of the technic: similarities and differences between the animal and human technic

Abstract

Animal technique has occupied a marginal position in reflections on technique, and in the philosophical literature there is no strict definition of it. However, it is of great importance to understand the limits and the distinctive features of our own technique. This work argues that it is possible to establish a solid definition of animal technique based on two definitions of human technique (prosthetic notion of technique and material culture) and one particular dimension of human tools (cognitive tools). This paper takes a naturalistic approach that enables to review different study cases focused on animals’ capacity to make and use tools.

Keywords

• human technic
• animal technic
• protesic notion
• material culture
• cognitive tools
• study cases