Animal Consciousness

   

Snake Bat  2019

       It was beastly hot last night, but I was happy to bike over Redhook to see a talk at  Pioneer Works.   While waiting for the talk to begin,  I enjoyed looking over the impressive space.  The building  was built in 1835 and rebuilt in 1881 after a fire, and was in heavy use as a machine factory until after WWII.   A formidable gantry crane spanned the ceiling, and appeared to have the lighting fixture, the size of two grand pianos rigged to it with diry old tattered straps, which gave the event an air of suspense.  The talk, which took place on a stage set up in the rear behind an acre of folding chairs was attended by a phalanx of sexy nerds, many of whom seemed to be on dates.  I bought a $10 bowl boiled garden vegetables that was so good, I almost abandoned my seat to go shake down the over-healthy-looking youths who sold it to me for the recipe. 

     The talk explored the question of animal consciousness.  The presenters, Diana Reiss, a professor of psychology at Hunter College and in the graduate program of animal behavior and comparative psychology at the City University of New York .....whose research has focused on cognition and communication of dolphins and other cetaceans.  She is known to be one of the world's leading authorities on dolphin intelligence.  (Woosh)  She and her associates on stage addressed the sticky issue of defining consciousness as a word humans devised to describe what makes them other than animals.  Therefore, it is tough to define it.

     Frans B.M. de Waal  is a professor of primate behavior at Emory University, joined Reiss on stage.  They presented on some key studies:  The cooperation study, the fairness study, the self-identification (recognition of one's self in a mirror), and male vs. female dominance.  These studies are based on performance standards reflective of human capability.  They explained that humans use standards of human intelligence to judge that of animals, and fail to observe the unhuman forms of intelligence that animals possess.  An octopus was sited as an example with its nine brains, and layers of specialized neurons enabling mimicry.  This is not emotional intelligence, which would be the rub.

    Dr. Waal explained that the study of animal behavior has given way to animal cognition, particularly in the areas of higher functioning animals such as dolphins and monkeys.  He went on to say that the word "instinct" is barely ever used anymore by animal biologists. 

    Check out the link for the fairness study conducted with Capuchin monkeys. The crowd laughing undermines the gravity of the issue.  (face creased in laughter emoticon)

   
   Also:

Scientists are still discovering new creatures.  Are these evolved creatures or just really good at hiding?

Cat Fox

The following is the first I have heard of a this hybrid....

Raccoon Dog