--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human folk are as a matter of fact eager…" description: "\"Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.\" — Edward Thorndike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg" --- # Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find… ![“Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.” quote by Edward Thorndike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg) > “Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.” [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. People tend to attribute human-like intelligence to animals, often overestimating their mental capacities. **In simple terms:** We anthropomorphize animals. Key Takeaway Recognize animal cognition without projection. Themes cognition anthropomorphism science Mood analytical curious Type scientific observational When to use this quote - research labs - pet ownership - wildlife observation Key Concepts Behaviorism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports genuine animal intelligence? - How can we balance empathy with scientific accuracy? 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As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [“When the oppressed, downtrodden, outraged exhort one another with the vengeful cunning of impotence: "let us be different from the evil, namely good! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-the-oppressed-downtrodden-outraged-exhort-one-another-with-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Matter-of-fact descriptions make the improbable seem real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/matter-of-fact-descriptions-make-the-improbable-seem-real/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the center of all rests the sun. For who would place this lamp of a very beautiful temple in another or better place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/in-the-center-of-all-rests-the-sun-for-who-would-place-this-lamp-of-a/) [Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [As a matter of fact, if we could communicate the truth, not only to the Hispanics but to the black population, all blacks should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-cruz/as-a-matter-of-fact-if-we-could-communicate-the-truth-not-only-to-the/) [Rafael Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-cruz/) > [It is conceivable that God might have ordained to preach the Gospel directly to man through dreams, visions and revelations. But as a matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/it-is-conceivable-that-god-might-have-ordained-to-preach-the-gospel/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [What? Had a dry spell of killing people lately? (Susan) As a matter of fact, yes. If it doesn’t end soon, I might get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/what-had-a-dry-spell-of-killing-people-lately-susan-as-a-matter-of/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [As a matter of fact, even when I finished law school, I had no notion of public service then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dinkins/as-a-matter-of-fact-even-when-i-finished-law-school-i-had-no-notion/) [David Dinkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dinkins/) > [As a matter of fact, compromise is what oppression feeds on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/as-a-matter-of-fact-compromise-is-what-oppression-feeds-on/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [Just live that life. It doesn't matter whether it is life or hell, life of the hungry ghost, life of the animal, it's okay;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taizan-maezumi/just-live-that-life-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-is-life-or-hell-life/) [Taizan Maezumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taizan-maezumi/) > [“Lately, it had been an endless procession of long, black nights and gray mornings, when her sense of failure swept over her like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/lately-it-had-been-an-endless-procession-of-long-black-nights-and/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [Experiences in order to be educative must lead out into an expanding world of subject matter, a subject matter of facts or information and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/experiences-in-order-to-be-educative-must-lead-out-into-an-expanding/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## 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/) > [From the lowest animals of which we can affirm intelligence up to man this type of intellect is found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/from-the-lowest-animals-of-which-we-can-affirm-intelligence-up-to-man/) [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. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. 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. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. 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": "Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Thorndike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager-to-find-intelligence-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager-to-find-intelligence-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/edward-thorndike-21237_animal_human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager_397975.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human folk are as a matter of fact eager to find intelligence in animals.” — 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": "Human folk are as a matter...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager-to-find-intelligence-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thorndike/human-folk-are-as-a-matter-of-fact-eager-to-find-intelligence-in/#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 } } ] } ```