While animals are by no means dumb they dont think the same way we do contrary to what many popular television shows would have us believe animals have neither the theory of mind capabilities that humans have that is they are not conscious of what others are thinking nor the capacity for higher level reasoning so in wynnes view when fido greets your arrival by nudging your leg hes more apt to be asking for dinner than commiserating with your job stress. But they are not human beings they are not 98 human they are not even half human they are 100 animals on their own terms the desire to see animals as human is unbearably strong but if we . Yes animals think and feel heres how we know the author of a new book also says that animals can feel empathy like the humpback whale that rescued a seal 8 minute read. Animals have interesting thoughts but the only way they can convey them is by grunts shrieks and other vocalizations and by gestures hauser points out when humans evolved speech they liberated the kinds of thoughts nonhumans have feedback between language and thinking then boosted human self awareness and other cognitive functions