Angelica Kaufmann

Humans and non-human animals alike rely on temporal cues to coordinate behaviour. This Element investigates whether non-human animals possess genuine temporal cognition—the capacity to mentally represent time rather than merely respond to temporal cues. It examines the evolution of cognitive architectures that support temporal coordination and considers the philosophical implications of time representation. Challenging the long-standing view that non-human animals operate in a ‘permanent present’ and lack the ability to mentally represent time, the Element offers a comparative analysis across apes, marine mammals, terrestrial mammals, birds, insects, and human infants. Drawing on current empirical evidence, it explores how different species represent time and coordinate action accordingly. By bringing together empirical research and philosophical analysis, the Element addresses a critical gap in the literature and advances the view that temporal cognition is widespread in nature.

In humans, at least some of our ability to coordinate our actions with the timing of events in our world is due to our capacities for temporal cognition. However, controversy arises when we turn our attention to the animal world. In this paper, we will argue that apes, especially Taï Chimpanzees, are capable of genuine temporal cognition. That is, they are able to mentally represent and reason about time in cognition. We do this by developing a novel analysis of the mental representation of time.