Constructing the Minds of Ants: The Role of Anthropomorphism in German-language Animal Psychology Around 1900

Abstract

Anthropomorphism is a recurring and contested topic in the scientific study of animal behaviour. This article aims at gaining a deeper understanding of anthropomorphism and its function for animal behaviour science by examining the study of ants in the German-language discourse of animal psychology around 1900. By analysing the works of physiologist Albrecht Bethe and entomologist Auguste Forel it is demonstrated that the use of analogy as a method in the study of animals led to a debate on anthropomorphism, resulting in the demarcation of scientific approaches from unscientific ones. As the production of knowledge in animal psychology relied heavily on human judgement of scientific methods and philosophical ideas, it can be concluded that the mind of ants is not only conceptually, but socially constructed in these studies.