--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the lowest animals of which we can…" description: "\"From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.\" — Edward Thorndike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg" --- # From the lowest animals of which we can affirm… ![“From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.” quote by Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg) > “From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.” [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence exists on a continuum from simple animals to humans, showing shared cognitive traits. **In simple terms:** Intelligence spans all species. Key Takeaway Study comparative cognition. Themes biology psychology evolution intelligence Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - animal training - education methods - AI development - conservation strategies Key Concepts cognitive continuity comparative studies neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - What does this mean for animal rights? - How can we apply animal learning to human education? A Different Perspective Human uniqueness can be overstated without acknowledging animal cognition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ## Related quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Anger is the lowest emotion. It clouds the intellect and can make you do foolish things. 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I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone else on the planet, from the lowest amoebae to the great blue whale, expresses all their component elements in a perfect dance with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lore/everyone-else-on-the-planet-from-the-lowest-amoebae-to-the-great-blue/) [Nicholas Lore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lore/) > [I see a lot of true artists... then you see them on the cover of Maxim. That's the lowest of low to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-kimball/i-see-a-lot-of-true-artists-then-you-see-them-on-the-cover-of-maxim/) [Cheyenne Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-kimball/) > [There's always that one person that can make you smile, even when you're at your lowest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-always-that-one-person-that-can-make-you-smile-even-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Edward Thorndike > [There is no reasoning, no process of inference or comparison; there is no thinking about things, no putting two and two together; there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/there-is-no-reasoning-no-process-of-inference-or-comparison-there-is/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [On the whole, the psychological work of the last quarter of the nineteenth century emphasized the study of consciousness to the neglect of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/on-the-whole-the-psychological-work-of-the-last-quarter-of-the/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager-to-find-intelligence-in/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [So the animal finally performs in that situation only the fitting act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/so-the-animal-finally-performs-in-that-situation-only-the-fitting-act/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [To the intelligent man with an interest in human nature it must often appear strange that so much of the energy of the scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/to-the-intelligent-man-with-an-interest-in-human-nature-it-must-often/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Human education is concerned with certain changes in the intellects, characters and behavior of men, its problems being roughly included under these four topics:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-education-is-concerned-with-certain-changes-in-the-intellects/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [The intellectual evolution of the race consists in an increase in the number, delicacy, complexity, permanence and speed of formation of such associations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/the-intellectual-evolution-of-the-race-consists-in-an-increase-in-the/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Human beings are accustomed to think of intellect as the power of having and controlling ideas and of ability to learn as synonymous with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-beings-are-accustomed-to-think-of-intellect-as-the-power-of/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [For origin and development of human faculty we must look to these processes of association in lower animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/for-origin-and-development-of-human-faculty-we-must-look-to-these/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [This growth in the number, speed of formation, permanence, delicacy and complexity of associations possible for an animal reaches its acme in the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/this-growth-in-the-number-speed-of-formation-permanence-delicacy-and/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Psychology helps to measure the probability that an aim is attainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/psychology-helps-to-measure-the-probability-that-an-aim-is-attainable/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Dogs get lost hundreds of times and no one ever notices it or sends an account of it to a scientific magazine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/dogs-get-lost-hundreds-of-times-and-no-one-ever-notices-it-or-sends/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Psychology is the science of the intellects, characters and behavior of animals including man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/psychology-is-the-science-of-the-intellects-characters-and-behavior/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [Just as the science and art of agriculture depend upon chemistry and botany, so the art of education depends upon physiology and psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/just-as-the-science-and-art-of-agriculture-depend-upon-chemistry-and/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) > [When, instead of merely associating some act with some situation in the animal way, we think the situation out, we have a set of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/when-instead-of-merely-associating-some-act-with-some-situation-in/) [Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) [Explore all 29 Edward Thorndike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Thorndike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can-affirm-intelligence-up-to-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can-affirm-intelligence-up-to-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aae/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can_657227.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.” — Edward Thorndike", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Thorndike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thorndike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From the lowest animals of which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can-affirm-intelligence-up-to-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can-affirm-intelligence-up-to-man/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```