The main topics in the study of animal cognition are reviewed with special
reference to direct links to human, and in particular developmental, cognitive
sciences. The material is organized with regard to the general idea that
biological organisms would be endowed with a small set of separable systems
of core knowledge, a prominent hypothesis in the current developmental
cognitive sciences. Core knowledge systems would serve to represent inanimate
physical objects and their mechanical interactions (natural physics); numbers with
their relationships of ordering, addition, and subtraction (natural mathematics);
places in the spatial layout with their geometric relationships (natural geometry);
and animate psychological objects (agents) with their goal-directed actions (natural
psychology). Some advanced forms of animal cognition, such as episodic-like
representations and planning for the future, are also discussed.
