WE BELIEVE we are radically different from other animals. We have ethical ideals. We engage in philosophical inquiry. We have developed a rapidly expanding body of scientific knowledge. No other animal displays these capacities.
Yet the implication of recent scientific research is that the differences between ourselves and other animals are much more subtle and complex than we think. What we take to be our most valuable achievements may actually depend on illusions – false or distorted views of the world and ourselves that are built into our natural ways of thinking and perceiving.
We believe we are conscious agents capable…
