Animals as Communication Partners: Ethics and Challenges in Interspecies Language Research
Hanna Mamzer, Maria Kuchtar, Waldemar Grzegorzewski

TL;DR
This paper explores how animals communicate with humans, suggesting that their emotional and cognitive abilities are more complex than previously thought.
Contribution
The paper proposes a relational framework for interspecies communication that emphasizes shared emotional engagement and ethical interpretation.
Findings
Empathy, cooperation, and bonding mechanisms are evolutionarily conserved across species.
Technological tools like AI can help analyze animal communication but require ethical care.
Animals should be viewed as partners in communication, not just signal emitters.
Abstract
Research on interspecies communication—including primates, dogs, and other social species—shows that cognitive and emotional processes in animals are far more complex than traditionally assumed. These findings challenge anthropocentric views in the science of language and cognition. Contemporary ethology, neurobiology, and animal philosophy indicate that communication is not merely the exchange of signals, but a form of participation and relationship. This article integrates biological, veterinary, and humanistic perspectives, analyzing the evolutionary mechanisms of communication, empathy, and morality, as well as the ethical consequences of language research with animals. The authors propose a vision of communication studies in which the human being is no longer the center of inquiry but becomes a partner in shared knowing. Interspecies communication is increasingly recognized as an…
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Taxonomy
TopicsHuman-Animal Interaction Studies · Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior · Primate Behavior and Ecology
