Really? I distinctly remember a lot of pissed off kids in my college philosophy and psychology classes trying to defend their religious beliefs and that we are more than just monkeys with fancier tools. Most of the religious folks (at least vocally) dropped out of Philosophy 101 after 2 weeks. It was incredibly entertaining. I guess this was 20 years ago, but assuming we are a more secular society I guess I thought that would still be the case.
It's a bit different at the intro level. I'm talking about the professors and the grad students. It's not that they're directly religious, but I get a status-quo-preserving kind of feeling from them. Like maybe they're influenced by a tradition of not calling your patron an ape--or somesuch.
Weird, I would think it would be much less hand-holdy at that level.
It feels more like gatekeeping: let nobody who thinks animals talk to each other call themselves a psychologist.
Hum... So, you are in full agreement with the GP?