Is anthropomorphism really the problem some make it out to be?

We hear this all the time – that “anthropomorphism is a dangerous tendency because the horse is not a person”. Well, sure. Thanks for that, Captain Obvious.

But to anthropomorphize says that we are attributing human traits, emotions, and tendencies to the horse.  We do this with lots of things… our horses, our dogs, inanimate objects, and so much more… It’s a common way for us to relate to the world and see things through a filter that helps us, really, to be more compassionate and understanding of something that isn’t ourselves. Well, sometimes.

Horses have emotions. They have thoughts (some horses have more moment-by-moment thoughts than some humans you might know). They have preferences. They have understanding and misunderstanding about things (many problem-solving trainers wouldn’t have jobs if this was not the case).  They have wants and dislikes.  So is it really a problem to attribute these things to horses?  

We can split hairs as much as we want with this, and find plenty of arguments on both sides of the barn aisle, but hear me out here -

I don’t really think that anthropomorphism is quite the right word for the problem we often run into.  In fact, research has shown that, when used with careful consideration and a focus on the animal's perspective, anthropomorphism can be a useful tool for exploring the behavior, cognitive abilities, and emotional experiences of non-human animals.

But that’s the operative phrase… did you catch it?  Careful consideration and a focus on the animal’s perspective.

If we dig a little deeper, what the problem REALLY seems to be is PROJECTION and FALSE CONSENSUS BIAS, not necessarily anthropomorphism.

Projection is a natural human psychological defense mechanism where we attribute OUR OWN thoughts, feelings, and motives to another individual (human or non-human). We are basically projecting our inner world onto them, assuming that they feel or think the same way about a situation or thing that we do.

False consensus bias is when people overestimate how much others agree with their own beliefs, values, habits, and preferences. It’s like thinking that everyone else sees the world the same way that you do. This can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts – ESPECIALLY when we are talking across a species barrier like when we are working with a horse.

Neither projection nor false consensus bias take into account the horse’s own perspective. How they are really thinking about a situation, from the way that they are naturally wired to see it, is being run over by the human’s perspective. If we are trying to understand the behaviors our horse is exhibiting, but we are only looking through our own mental/emotional lens, then we are really just being lazy in our approach and we won’t come to an accurate understanding. Because, as Captain Obvious said, “… the horse is not a person.”

In fact, if we start to look beyond projection and false consensus bias, we might even begin to understand other humans a bit better.  Wouldn’t that make for some potentially interesting interactions?

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