Long overdue declaration on animal consciousnes

[Z...]

Scientific community has finally officially declared that:

"non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates."

I think for "advanced civilization" it took us quite long to state the obvious. Hopefully this will be a stepping stone for better animal welfare laws, or perhaps not as there are still some scientists who dispute it.

More info here
_http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528836.200-animals-are-conscious-and-should-be-treated-as-such.html

 

[mkrnhr]

I don't know what the secondary effect from such isolated opinions can have, but on the other hand, many scientists do not acknowledge consciousness as a real phenomenon. If humans exhibit consciousness, why the wars, massacres, starvation, manipulation, and all the horror they are subjected to? Declaring that someone has consciousness does not prevent him to be subjected to violence. So, it looks like writing in the sand.

 

[Z...]

well its the first time official scientific community has made such a declaration so that's significant, but in the larger scheme of things you are probably right - writing in the sand.

 

[mcb]

Scientific community has finally officially declared that:

"non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates."
...

That's very generous of them, though odd that the "weight of evidence" would come up now when the evidence has been weighing in heavily for such a long time.

This, of course, is rooted in religious issues, not scientific ones, and the deniers include both those from traditional religions and scientific ones. And they are still there.

I have not seen a "community declaration" previously, but I my reading I have been seeing scientific references to animal consciousness for a good many years now.

 

[Beau]

well its the first time official scientific community has made such a declaration so that's significant, but in the larger scheme of things you are probably right - writing in the sand.

Did you notice the article was from September of last year? SOTT also carried an article in August where scientists proclaimed that animal and human consciousness were the same as well.