Elephants are magnificent creatures that have ancestors dating back to before human existence. The elephant is ranked among the best in animal intelligence. It’s massive size and valuable tusks make it seem extremely dangerous and aggressive, however elephants are some of the only animals known to grieve. Perhaps the most unique part of these animals is their brain. Along with its massive size in comparison to humans, the elephant brain is qiute similar to the human brain in structure and function.
Throughout the class we have analyzed empathy in many contexts. From social media and justice to disease and the mentally ill, we have discussed quite a bit. What I bring forth is another topic of discussion, empathy in animals. This is not exclusive to only domesticated animals like dogs, my goal is to relate human empathy to that of the elephant. Empathy in a dog that has been long domesticated and has large amounts of human exposure each day is easier to connect and understand. However in a wild, typically undomesticated animal, empathy may find its own roots in the brain and may even shape social interactions and cultural norms of the animal herd. I aim to answer the question: What are the similarities between the human and elephant brain that tie them together? Based on the similarities, are elephants capable of the human empathy we exercise daily? And if not, do elephants practice their own form of empathic emotion that simply may not fit the human definition?
Answering this question will require using sources from many different perspectives. The neurological point of view will be necessary to identifying the structures and pathways within the brain that make the elephant brain resemble the human brain. For example, a source located on the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience peer reviewed webpage suggests an evolutionary similarity in one of the specific neurons in the human brain and the mammalian brain. Other sources with a similar focus will be used as well. Once, that background has been established, I must turn my focus towards a scientific perspective to be able to fully define empathy in order to determine, through experiments, if elephants meet the criteria. Experiments such as those discussed in the scholarly articles, “Self Recognition in an Asian Elephant” and “Phylogenomic analyses reveal convergent patterns of adaptive evolution in elephant and human ancestries” have been run and approved by the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences of the United States of America. The articles identify the traits experimentally discovered in elephants that are necessary to establish and practice empathy. Also, “Elephant Cognition: A Review of Recent Experiments” by Moti Nissani will add to the depth of information in regards to neurological research about the elephant brain. Finally, I must utilize a significant amount of research on the social constructs that make up elephant herd culture. This way, if I discover that elephants do not exercise the human form of empathy, I will be able to identify how elephants may practice their own form of empathic emotion. This research may include ecological sources as well as recent observational experiments done on elephants to analyze the way they live, interact with their environment and one another, as well as the way they die and the toll that such an event can take on the group. In my preliminary research I have found many sources to supplement this portion of the question at issue. For example, “Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel” by Carl Safina gives many examples elephant culture through observational analysis. In addition, “Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family” by Cynthia Moss will lend a great deal of information about the close bonds among an elephant family.
Altogether this cluster of source will allow me to develop a well researched thesis in response to the question at issue.
Works Cited
Cauda F, Geminiani GC and Vercelli A. “Evolutionary appearance of von Economo’s neurons in the mammalian cerebral cortex.” Front. Hum. Neurosci. Web. 8 Nov. 2017. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00104
Plotnik, Joshua M., Frans B. M. de Waal, and Diana Reiss. “Self-Recognition in an Asian Elephant.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2006) Web. 8 Nov. 2017.
Nissani, Moti. “Elephant cognition: A Review of Recent Experiments.” Gajah 28 Goodman, Morris, et al. (2004) Web. 8 Nov. 2017.
“Phylogenomic analyses reveal convergent patterns of adaptive evolution in elephant and human ancestries.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2009) Web. 8 Nov. 2017.
Safina, Carl. “Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel” 1st ed. Henry Holt and Company, 2015.
Moss, Cynthia J.. “Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family” University of Chicago Press, 2000.