In That Tucked Tail, Real Pangs of Regret? - NYTimes.com
If you own a dog, especially a dog that has anointed your favorite rug, you know that an animal is capable of apologizing. He can whimper and slouch and tuck his tail and look positively mortified -- "I don't know what possessed me." But is he really feeling sorry?
If you own a dog, especially a dog that has anointed your favorite rug, you know that an animal is capable of apologizing. He can whimper and slouch and tuck his tail and look positively mortified -- "I don't know what possessed me." But is he really feeling sorry?
Could any animal feel true pangs of regret? Scientists once scorned this notion as silly anthropomorphism, and I used to side with the skeptics who dismissed these displays of contrition as variations of crocodile tears. Animals seemed too in-the-moment, too busy chasing the next meal, to indulge in much self-recrimination. If old animals had a song, it would be "My Way."
Yet as new reports keep appearing -- moping coyotes, rueful monkeys, tigers that cover their eyes in remorse, chimpanzees that second-guess their choices -- the more I wonder if animals do indulge in a little paw-wringing.
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