What Comparative Psychology Is About: Back to the Future

The problem of the status and identity of comparative psychology can be analyzed from two standpoints. One that has been predominant in the last few decades consists of reactions to the various criticisms that other animal behavior sciences have addressed to it. This standpoint is useful as a first approximation of comparative psychology's particulars but does not delineate common objectives that could encourage a sense of identity and ensure a stable and consistent progress of the field. Another standpoint is based on the examination of the epistemological tradition of comparative psychology. Although the study of behavioral phenotypes is an essential first step, comparative psychology has always been and still is about animal mind. Its future should be built on the expertise that results from this long and fruitful tradition and that has still to be matched by other animal behavior sciences.