this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2024
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Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare | Quanta Magazine (www.quantamagazine.org)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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An interesting read. "A group of prominent biologists and philosophers announced a new consensus: There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness." https://www.quantamagazine.org/insects-and-other-animals-have-consciousness-experts-declare-20240419/

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare | Quanta Magazine

There’s “a realistic possibility” that insects, octopuses, crustaceans, fish and other overlooked animals experience consciousness.

There's a special place in hell for title writers.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I totally agree with your criticism about the headline, but declaring octopuses have consciousness isn't a stretch at all in my opinion.

I highly recommend reading my blog post on animal cognition, culture, and personhood.

I have ads turned off and do not benefit in any way from my blog. I feel confident that my write-up should persuade open-minded individuals to give other animals the benefit of the doubt regarding possessing consciousness.

I have doubts about insect consciousness is any sort of relatable sense to humans, but many other animals absolutely possess consciousness similar to humans.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Octopuses are so wildly smart I can't imagine them not being conscious. Of all the animals we should not be eating they're one of the big ones. I'm convinced if they have the chance (over like an evolutionary amount of years) they could develop past being solitary and set up rudimentary societies

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Yeah they are so incredible!

One of the biggest hindrances for their species is the lack of social learning. The mother starves and dies protecting the eggs, so all octopuses have to learn for themselves over their short lifespans.

And that is a testament to their cunning intellect and problem-solving capability. They learn so much and so quickly.

I've wondered what would happen in an experiment where a mother octopus was hooked up to machines to deliver nutrients to prevent her from starving to death while guarding her eggs. What kind of social dynamic would then follow once they hatched? Would she teach her young?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Why do we need machines? Can't we just give her some food? "Hey momma octopus, have a Snicker's. You're not you when you're hungry."

Worth keeping in mind, though, teaching is a skill. I know lots of brilliant people who can't teach worth a damn. And humans are biologically hardwired for teaching. Imagine how hard teaching has got to be for an octopus.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Well I mean teaching as in modeling the behavior. Like offspring witnessing tool use for example.

And hooking her up to machine for nutrition was just an example. The point is because she will stop eating and starve herself.

But as someone else commented, removing the sex harmone glad prompts them to continue eating.

Edit: Wait that was you!