09-13-2015, 07:53 PM
Scientists Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings
Quote:However, at the recent Francis Crick Memorial Conference in Cambridge England, a very significant similarity between humans and animals was concluded by the presenting scientists, and that is that humans AND non-human animals are all conscious beings [2].
Consciousness is a very complex term, and difficult to fully and adequately define. However, the full declaration included statements such as:
…Evidence of near human-like levels of consciousness has been most dramatically observed in African grey parrots… Moreover, certain species of birds have been found to exhibit neural sleep patterns similar to those of mammals, including REM sleep… Magpies in particular have been shown to exhibit striking similarities to humans, great apes, dolphins, and elephants in studies of mirror self-recognition.
…evidence indicates 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. Nonhuman animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.