Czy pies odróżnia muzykę od hałasu? W kierunku zoocentrycznego rozumienia bodźców akustycznych
Does a Dog Distinguish Music from Noise? Towards a Zoocentric Understanding of Acoustic Stimuli

Summary/Abstract: The article explores the increasingly popular topic of canine perception of human music, aiming to determine whether dogs possess a criterion for differentiation between categories of auditory stimuli – human music and anthropogenic noise – that humans intuitively distinguish. By employing a comparative narrative and outlining the neurobiological layer of auditory perception in both humans and dogs, the paper develops a reflection on the validity of categorizing auditory stimulation in dogs and the potential boundaries of their classification within the music–noise dichotomy. The analysis is extended to include the impact of agency, habituation, and association on dogs’ behavioral and biological responses to auditory stimuli. Referring to Daniel Berlyne’s psychobiological theory, the article also highlights the importance of context and individual factors in animal perception. The article provokes a discussion on two potential paths of interpreting existing knowledge and serves as an introduction to further empirical research in this area, emphasizing the need for an interdisciplinary approach that combines the humanities and biological sciences. It also proposes a zoocentric assumption that, although music may have a positive neurobiological impact on dogs and elicit emotional arousal, the capacity to truly enjoy music might be an inherently human trait.

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