Do animals have consciousness? | Philip Goff and Lex Fridman

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GUEST BIO:
Philip Goff is a philosopher of mind and consciousness at Durham University and author of Galileo's Error.

PODCAST INFO:

SOCIAL:

[rkumar]

All animals including the human animal have conciousness. A human baby has less conciousness than a full grown chimp. They all deserve respect.

[WesCoughlin]

A difference between human and animal consciousness is the increase amount of "awareness" we have. More awareness allows for more choices. Humans have a much larger decision making pool to choose from, such as morales & ethics, art, technology, philosophy, etc...

[meows_and_woof]

I have a dog and 3 cats and they are definitely self aware. They can recognise themselves in the mirror, they have a memory, recognise their names and other’s names as well. They know so many commands, they understand human emotions, have feelings similar to human- happy, sad, jealous, greedy, needy, want to be alone, missing someone and many more.
They might not have an abstract thoughts but some level of consciousness they do have.
Dogs have higher level than cats. Hamsters and other rodents are not that conscious and intelligent.

[rjmunt]

I find it very hard to respect the opinions of people who think non human animals are not conscious.

One easy point is that they are capable of deception. Which would indicate that they are able to model the possible responses of other creatures in order to manipulate them.

[stillnessinmovement]

all life has consciousness. words aren't consciousness. they are something we create, it's extra. trees too have sconsciousness. it is only how small minded we choose to be, how small the club we choose to make. im on team earth, team nature. and im very consious of this. we need to learn how to communicate better. listen better. respect the awesomeness were a part of.

[francissynergia]

Hell yes they do I don’t even need to watch this to know that

[AthenaTheWolf]

I’d like to think my dog is self aware. She might not have the same consciousness of a human but there exist life in her. As such I try to afford her the best care possible. Her life is as precious as many other unique life forms that can be found here on our planet.

[sicknado]

"It is not our intelligence that separates us from other animals, because as a species we are really not that intelligent. It is our insight." -Dian Fossey

[fakeyawns]

Goff: We are unique because we are the only animals able to reason and weigh evidence.
Orca: Dude. I dare you to say that to my face. No. I double dog dare you! Pfff. Goff shmoff.

[Srt_zac]

the only difference is the level of self awareness

[maillardsbearcat]

It feels like consciousness is not special until you add the ability to reflect on it

[MrBrettrx]

Do animals have consciousness? As if Humans aren't animals.

[Steph-skxb]

I think the main sign something is conscious is being able to think of abstract concepts. Like religious beliefs, making tools and items being aware of your own mortality, etc. those real basic kinda things.

[naegleriafowleri]

The biggest proof that they have consciousness is fear. They are aware that they are alive and are afraid of dying. Fear at the core is correlated to death. It's a feeling and emotion created by the brain for self-preservation of life. Any being who is alive can feel fear, as such, will have some form of consciousness of their existence. Just the fact that you know you are living, is consciousness. You could argue that even insects also have some form of consciousness as they also experience fear, and anxiety when attacked. Even bacteria, fungi, amoebas, etc do everything in their power not to die, as such, they must have some awareness of life. Problem here is humans think too highly of ourselves when we are just another animal. We may be more evolved, our level of consciousness and intelligence may be higher, but at a universal scale, is nothing.

[faulkerp]

Who knows if in 10 000 years how many species would have evolved to human levels. Imagine what it would be like living in that world.

[djbrianbri]

All I can think about is a hamster wearing a wig looking up at the stars ⭐️ pondering theoretical physics

[ianve]

We are extremely ill equipped in establishing the presence of consciousness. Even when presented with the human brain, we cannot say with any certainty that consciousness is present. This we see with coma patients that upon becoming response relate that that they had some awareness of their surroundings while this could not be established trough examination. So if this is still a challenge, there is little hope of verifying or denying the presence of consciousness in other organizations of energy.

[matthewsands]

Of course they do. I find it to be an almost absurd question. Like what possible reason is there for thinking they do not have consciousness?

[haniamritdas]

Humans are a narcissistic species. That is fairly unique I think.

[downwithtrudeau]

Some animals have proven to be self aware. Elephants where given a mirror to examine. They were able to recognize their own reflection and when a red dot was painted on their forehead they were able to recognize that their appearance has changed and they try to figure out what it is. Tell me that isn't self awareness. I don't think you can be that self aware without being conscious.