Philosophical Questions: Self-Awareness
Feb. 10th, 2024 02:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Is it possible that some animals are self-aware and think about their ability to think?
Some animals have proven self-awareness. There's a whole field of testing for that sort of thing, and each test typically looks for a specific aspect of the self. For example, the mark test measures visual self-image, which multiple species have passed. Animals can lie in various ways. Some are passive, like camouflage pretending to be an inert object. Active lying, such as pretending to hide food or toys in a decoy location while being watched, suggests a theory of mind -- that the animal knows someone is watching and thinking about their prize, so they attempt to manipulate that other mind's awareness to retain the prize. Here are some examples of animals lying.
Is it possible that some animals are self-aware and think about their ability to think?
Some animals have proven self-awareness. There's a whole field of testing for that sort of thing, and each test typically looks for a specific aspect of the self. For example, the mark test measures visual self-image, which multiple species have passed. Animals can lie in various ways. Some are passive, like camouflage pretending to be an inert object. Active lying, such as pretending to hide food or toys in a decoy location while being watched, suggests a theory of mind -- that the animal knows someone is watching and thinking about their prize, so they attempt to manipulate that other mind's awareness to retain the prize. Here are some examples of animals lying.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-11 05:27 am (UTC)Wow!
Date: 2024-02-11 05:34 am (UTC)One limitation of the mirror test is that animals don't think like humans and are not always interested in the same things. But they may reveal self-awareness by responding to different things than humans do, or the same things in different ways.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-11 12:40 pm (UTC)It's not scientific evidence, but I was sitting with K'zin (my wing cat of fond memory) curled up next to me and jokingly asked if he loved me... he stopped purring, sat up and stared at me for a few seconds with what I could only characterise as a thoughtful expression, then did a flop-roll-cuddle and purred up a storm.
Pretty sure he actually thought about it for a second and the answer was a heartfelt yes! Which I'm convinced shows he was capable of thinking about his own state of mind.
Aww ...
Date: 2024-02-12 10:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-02-13 12:23 am (UTC)