Scientists Finally Conclude Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious Beings [1]

Psychology Today
Published on August 10, 2012 by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D. [2] in Animal Emotions [3]

Didn't we already know this? Yes we did.

Every now and again I receive an email message I ignore after reading the subject line. I know I'm not alone in following this rule of thumb, but today I broke down and opened a message the subject line of which read "Scientists Declare: Nonhuman Animals Are Conscious [4]". I honestly thought it was a joke, likely from one of my favorite newspapers, The Onion [5]. However, it wasn't.

My colleague Michael Mountain published a summary of a recent meeting held in Cambridge, England [4] at which "Science leaders have reached a critical consensus: Humans are not the only conscious beings; other animals, specifically mammals and birds, are indeed conscious, too." At this gathering, called The Francis Crick Memorial Conference [6], a number of scientists presented evidence that led to this self-obvious conclusion. It's difficult to believe that those who have shared their homes with companion animals didn't already know this. And, of course, many renowned and award-winning field researchers had reached the same conclusion years ago [7] (see also [8]).

To read the rest of this story, visit PsychologyToday.com [9].