Animal Language in Aristotle

Abstract

The present article has as a purpose the examination of the possibility of an animal language in the corpus Aristotelicum. In tackling this question, the article sheds light on the implicit relationship between language and intelligence and shows how, for Aristotle, animals communicate through signals and symbols that assume complex cognitive thoughts. The latter permits the revelation that, just as is the case with human beings, other animals have the capacity of using signals and finding meaning in some external manifestations that lead them to act in a certain manner. Taking this into account, the text examines a paradigmatic behavior in animals within the Aristotelian biological studies. Upon analysis, the article shows how animals perform cognitive acts that, because of the psychological complexity that they reflect and because of the practical result they achieve, allow these behaviors to be called intelligent.

Keywords

• aristotle
• language
• voice
• inteligence
• animal