Just how smart are animals? Are they self aware? Do they know who they are?
Recently in reply to a remark on an excellent post by @williambanks @shiri45 said
Self Awareness is an emergent property of a sufficiently complex network" The interesting thing in that statement is first of all, what you are stating is a variation of functionalism, but while functionalism is about consciousness, you talk about,self-awareness, which is a higher level than consciousness.
For something to be conscious, it's enough to have sensations. Any type of sensation. Consider a dog. They have consciousness, but probably no self-awareness. Or an insect. Can it feel pain? If it can, it is conscious.
Emergence is a very problematic term. It is a mystical concept that doesn't really explain anything at all. There is nothing in the description of material processes that explain mental processes. The magical word emergence doesn't solve anything, and the mystery is how we can have any subjective experience at all, no matter what if this experience is of a simple physical sensation or higher cognitive processes like self-awareness.
My Reply turned into this post.
I cohabitant with cats.
LeRoy
.
and
.
Bubba
.
are my two main men.
.
I live with them 24/7.
I have since they were kittens.
When I was truckin they were in the truck with me.
.
Now that I'm retired
Bubba doesn't get more than ten foot away from me
if he can.
When I go to sleep he's under the bed.
When I go outside on the patio
he's whining at the door.
Right now he's at my left elbow
on a table watching the door behind us.
he's the sentry...he's looking out for me.
Bubba's my friend,
but LeRoy considers me to be his meal ticket.
Not much more.
He's friendly, especially when he's hungry, which is frequent.
he want petting and cuddling, Bubba, not so much.
In fact Bubba would pretty much that I didn't touch him
But he's always at my side.
LeRoy is in it for the food.
.
Seriously Though.
.
There's SOMETHING going on in their little cold blooded minds.
They are NOT human in the least so don't Anthropomorphize them
but they are self aware.
Each one has a unique personality.
Live long enough with one and you will know it.
The same with dogs....only different.
.
I know from experience I've raised
Muscovy Ducks
source
.
Guinea Fowl
Source
.
not to mention geese, chickens, pigs, a pony, calves, sheep, goats, guinea pigs and hamsters.
(yes...sheep ARE that dumb)
Dog and cats , in my experience are NOT just little humans in furry coats.
They're living, breathing THINKING entities in their own right.
As for some of the other animals.
Just barely.
Some are quite bright.
Some....not so much.
Scientists have studied, observed , hypothesized and they came up with
The Encephalization Quotient
Species Encephalization quotient (EQ)[1]
Human 7.4–7.8
Tucuxi 4.56
Bottlenose dolphin 4.14
Orca 2.57–3.3
Chimpanzee 2.2–2.5
Rhesus monkey 2.1
Elephant 1.13–2.36
Chinchilla 1.34
Dog 1.2
Squirrel 1.1
Cat 1.00
Horse 0.9 I had a Welsh Pony when my son was young...mean little Bastard. (The pony...not my son)
By my observation this is some kind of dividing line. Critters above it are pretty smart. Self aware to an increasing degree. Those below it? Nope..dumb as a rock. I've raised sheep. They're born looking for a place to die. Perhaps it's a predator/ prey thing. How smart does a critter have to be to sneak up on a leaf?
Sheep 0.8
Mouse 0.5
Rat 0.4
Rabbit 0.4
Dogs are pretty bright. Australian Shepard especially. My wife's grandfather owned a dairy. In his declining years he had problems getting around. He had an Australian Shepard. All he had to do was tell the dog "go get the cows" and the dog would do it. The dog knew what it was doing.
Google is your friend....or buy a dog
This would be his great, great, great grandson and our grand puppy.
Boston terriers are pretty smart too. Stoney is the third one I've direct experience with. The First was Buster was my first wife's dog when she was a little girl. He lived to be almost twenty. The second was Mudge who was my wife's pet . Mudge grieved herself to death when my wife died...she would NOT be consoled.
So yeah. Some Animals are self aware. Some DO have personality. They're not people but there is definitely some there there.
Yarn
.
Like I said. “it came to me in a dream”
It’s purest speculation of the rankest kind.
however...if you like that kind of stuff.
Perhaps you might also enjoy
Books
that I have written.
.
AND posts such as this.
.
Follow me @everittdmickey
.
That's my Blog
in which I pontificate on Technology,
Philosophy, Religion,Politics, Economics
and occasionally
ShantyBoats
.
In my Blog I write about,
and hopefully engage my readers in discussions about,
the possible lifestyles that we will encounter after
TEOTWAWKI happens.
.
It WILL happen, one way or another,
probably something in between.
One thing is for sure and for certain though,
the world will NOT remain the same.
.
So Come on Down!
Sit a spell.
I got the Coffee on.
The Hobo Picture is a Public Domain image from
Samantha at the Worlds Fair
by Josiah Allen's Wife (Marietta Holley)
Illustrated by
Baron C. De Grimm published by
Funk and Wagnall's Company 1893
Unless noted
All other pictures are taken by me, members of my family,
Wiki Commons as CC BY 3.0,
or
Pixabay