Endler John A
Centre for Integrative Ecology; School of Life & Environmental Sciences; Deakin University; Geelong, Australia.
Commun Integr Biol. 2012 May 1;5(3):281-3. doi: 10.4161/cib.19481.
Male bowerbirds create and decorate a structure called a bower which serves only to attract females for mating, and females visit and choose one among many bower owners before deciding which male to mate with. Is what they do art, and do they have an aesthetic sense? I propose operational definitions of art, judgement, and an aesthetic sense which depend upon communication theory which allow one to get explicit answers to this question. By these definitions Great Bowerbirds are artists, judge art, and therefore have an aesthetic sense.
雄性园丁鸟会建造并装饰一种叫做求偶亭的结构，其唯一作用是吸引雌性来交配，雌性会前来参观，并在众多拥有求偶亭的雄性中挑选一个，然后才决定与哪只雄性交配。它们所做的是艺术吗？它们有审美意识吗？我提出了基于传播理论的艺术、评判和审美意识的操作性定义，这些定义能让人明确回答这个问题。根据这些定义，大园丁鸟是艺术家，能评判艺术，因此具有审美意识。
