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Do Horses Make Choices?
And do they know they can’t read and write?
What the heck is this all about?
It’s following on from my article What Does ‘Freedom’ Mean to Me? Writing Silly Nonsense, Stupid Horse Face.
So, do horses make choices? Or are they just operating on instinct? I’m not writing this article because I know the answer. I’m writing it because I don’t know the answer.
According to this article, Decision-Making Parallels Between Humans And Animals, animals do indeed make choices. However, it highlights just how easily those choices can be manipulated by offering rewards.
This begs the question: if choices can be so easily manipulated, are they free choices? The question then evolves into:
Do horses make free choices?
The answer seems to be “no”. An animal is merely choosing whichever choice it has learned brings them the most benefit.
But it’s really the same for humans, just more complex. Our choices are manipulated all the time, just in more subtle and complex ways than merely being offered an obvious treat. There are social and emotional consequences to our actions, which influence the choices we make and how we choose to behave. I explore this much more deeply in my…
