Scientists and philosophers across the globe agree it is reasonable to assume the vast majority of creatures on Earth are sentient in some way 含羞草研究社� including lobster, squid and the tiny flies that swarm over drinks left outside in the summer.
The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness, released Friday, was signed by 39 cognition scholars at universities from Canada to Australia. It says there is 含羞草研究社渁t least a realistic possibility含羞草研究社� that all vertebrates and many invertebrates have conscious experience.
The declaration rests on recent scientific studies that show garter snakes can recognize their own scent, crows can report what they see, octopi can avoid pain and fruit flies can sleep 含羞草研究社� and they sleep best when they含羞草研究社檙e with other fruit flies.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e not saying that these animals are having internal monologues,含羞草研究社� said Noam Miller, an associate professor of biology and psychology who runs the Collective Cognition Lab at Wilfrid Laurier University.
含羞草研究社淲hat we含羞草研究社檙e addressing here is a very simple level (of cognition): the ability to feel something, the ability to have an internal experience.含羞草研究社�
There is no accepted definition of consciousness, nor a specific test that can identify it; therefore, there is no real way to scientifically determine that anything 含羞草研究社� even a person 含羞草研究社� has consciousness, Miller said in an interview.
But there are many accepted 含羞草研究社渂ehavioural markers含羞草研究社� of consciousness that can be rigorously and scientifically tested, such as decision making or pain aversion, he said. Scientists have recently started running those tests on simple creatures, like bees, crayfish and lobsters, and they含羞草研究社檝e come up with stunning results.
A 2022 study showed bumblebees will roll tiny wooden balls around for no other reason than they seem to enjoy it. Crayfish exhibit 含羞草研究社渁nxious含羞草研究社� behaviour, which changed if they were given benzodiazepines, according to studies published between 2014 and 2017. And in 2019, scientists found that cleaner wrasse fish in front of a mirror seem to recognize an unfamiliar mark on their body and will try to get it off.
The declaration released Friday assembles that research, which shows these creatures exhibit behavioural markers of consciousness and concludes that because they have these markers, it含羞草研究社檚 reasonable to assume they have consciousness, Miller said. The declaration challenges people 含羞草研究社� including other scientists 含羞草研究社� to stop assuming these animals are insentient, or incapable of feeling.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e talking about shifting what our initial assumption is, rather than making any kind of definitive statement one way or the other,含羞草研究社� he said.
As an example, Kristin Andrews, a philosophy professor at York University, says scientific evidence supports the assumption that it 含羞草研究社渇eels like something含羞草研究社� for a fish to be caught on a hook.
When it is reasonable to assume that an animal has consciousness or feeling, it is reasonable to treat it accordingly, perhaps by adopting harvesting methods that kill fish quickly or by abandoning the practice of boiling lobsters alive, Andrews said in an interview.
Someone may even think twice before squishing an ant that isn含羞草研究社檛 bothering them, she added.
含羞草研究社淚t doesn含羞草研究社檛 mean that you can含羞草研究社檛 kill them, it doesn含羞草研究社檛 mean that you can含羞草研究社檛 eat them, right?含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淚t just means that we含羞草研究社檙e going to treat them as if they could potentially feel pain, and we含羞草研究社檙e going to minimize the pain that they experience.含羞草研究社�
Andrews was one of three main organizers of the declaration, which she described as a 含羞草研究社渉uge deal.含羞草研究社� The recognition that so many creatures have feeling offers everyone the possibility of a wider, deeper connection to the natural around them, she said.
And a better understanding of sentience in crayfish or crabs could help scholars understand consciousness in more complex animals, such as humans.
If insects or other simpler animals have consciousness, 含羞草研究社渢hen we have an example of a model organism that含羞草研究社檚 not as elaborated as humans, and that might not distract us with things like language,含羞草研究社� she said. 含羞草研究社淎nd we might actually be able to uncover the very nature of consciousness, once we含羞草研究社檝e acknowledged that these animals might be conscious.含羞草研究社�
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