I think they simply lack the mental machinery to think about hypotheticals in general. So there’s no struggle really, because they have no conception of fiction.
It is a matter of degrees, though. Some animals show the ability for social deception. That’s a limited form of fictional thinking, and is probably the basis from which humans developed the skill (because chimps can also do some amount of social deception).
As for play fighting, I think this is better understood as a different behavioral mode. It doesn’t actually require conceptualization, just an ability to engage in a ritualized behavior with others that may be similar to but is safely different from real fighting. Also don’t forget that play fights sometimes accidentally become real fights!
I think they simply lack the mental machinery to think about hypotheticals in general. So there’s no struggle really, because they have no conception of fiction.
It is a matter of degrees, though. Some animals show the ability for social deception. That’s a limited form of fictional thinking, and is probably the basis from which humans developed the skill (because chimps can also do some amount of social deception).
As for play fighting, I think this is better understood as a different behavioral mode. It doesn’t actually require conceptualization, just an ability to engage in a ritualized behavior with others that may be similar to but is safely different from real fighting. Also don’t forget that play fights sometimes accidentally become real fights!