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Insects and Other Animals Have Consciousness, Experts Declare | Quanta Magazine (www.quantamagazine.org)
submitted 2 years ago by [M] to c/becomeme@sh.itjust.works
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[–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

I think the real news is that we’re expanding the definition to creatures much further down the line such as bees and fish. No one who lived with a dog or sociable cat would have denied consciousness. But now we’re saying we think so about pretty close to all of them.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    If you've ever interacted with nature at all you know it's alive and conscious and aware, it's a no-brainer.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    I recently read an informative post about insects that suggested limited awareness. A grasshopper was eaten by a praying mantis. The comment suggested that the half that was still alive might not feel pain the way that we do as it continued to operate. I think this is what's being disputed to some degree (not the pain part, but that we're so different). I might be wrong. I'm not a biologist.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Well I mean sure but just because it doesn't feel pain in parts of its body doesn't mean it's not conscious.. there are certain humans who cannot feel pain... it's a rare condition but it exists... do those people not have a consciousness? Lol it's silly to think anything that is functioning on the planet that has ability to interact with the planet isn't conscious... it just seems absurd to me that there are people out there that think there are just automaton creatures wandering around haha Even plants and fungi have consciousness.. now it might not be the same as ours, and we might not understand it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means we don't understand their language or the way they communicate with each other.

    Like for example, I'm sure that thing knew it was being eaten.. I'm sure it just doesn't care about it on the level that we do for some creepy ass reason.... same way that animals that are run down by lions and tigers and all that crazy shit will just sometimes just sit there being eaten alive ... like I'm sure it definitely knows it's dying I just don't really understand reason why they just take it, I guess... but that's not for me to know haha it's probably something about accepting the circle of life and I'm not ready about that lmao

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    For the same reason a human in a bad automobile crash may be conscious and yet be immobile - the brain releases its own mix of painkillers along with other chemicals such as adrenalin when your body gets badly damaged.

    That's sometimes why you can get a big gash in your arm running or fighting or even moving furniture around, and might not immediately notice until you move into a lower state of excitement and those chemicals clear out of your blood stream.

    Someone can be very badly injured, but since they're in shock they might not be able to tell how badly they are hurt until the local environment changes.

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