Are animals conscious?

Truth.

I do feel that those people are less conscious than most others though. It's really hard for me to consider people like that intelligent.

The ability to rationalize our thought, allows for creativity to blossom, which allows for complex technology = which means, that rational thought is why humans are so advanced.
And these reactionary types seem to have really grown in numbers (people have become so much more 'common' and primitive in Western society of late), which is sort've really puzzling. The trend seems to be reversing -- but I just marvel at why that would possibly happen.

I can theorize about many things that have helped lead to it, but why would it happen?
Usually people revert to more primitive states through necessity, we seem to have done it as a culture by happenstance or complacency.

 

Duck, maybe those people are simply less intelligent rather than less conscious?

Thanks everyone for your replies. I personally believe that animals are conscious of course, I was just interested in what other people had to say on the matter.

eace:

 

Well, then, how are you gauging intelligence?

I would be akin to argue that the type of intelligence you seem to be meaning, incorporates consciousness -- but I can't be positive we are talking the same form.

 

Consciousness, as I personally would define it, is awareness of self; e.g. I know that I have some kind of form, whether it be mental, physical, etc.

 

Consciousness simply means "awareness", not self-awareness.

 

That's a good point, I've heard it referred to as 'self-awareness' so many times that that's kind of been ingrained into me by this point. Consciousness being 'awareness' definitely makes more sense though. Thanks.

eace:

 

You know there is a difference between consciousness and conscience...

 

ooo be doo... i wanna be like you-uuuuu

http://news.discovery.com/animals/chimpanzee-death-dying-behavior.html

 

I once had a cat, and he was very old and had a tumor. He would sit around all day and my other younger cat would sit with him protecting him.

 

consciousness is a human interpretation of thought. Everyone's beliefs are going to be different. In my interpretation animals absolutely are as conscious as any other being including humans

 

Some. I saw a spider yesterday and I crushed the bitch, he certainly isn't conscious any more

 

haha this was funny

 

Anything living has a consciousness.

 

Animals are most certainly conscious of what they are doing. Anyone that ever owned a dog or cat can tell you that they can manipulate there masters into walks/treats and they know when their doing it as well.

 

My parents have an old dog that grunts when it's past their bedtime. lol

 

That was the funniest thing i've read on here in awhile, unfortunately I can't rep.

 

I don't like how these philosophical threads and debates always get bogged down and turned into a semantical issue. It seems to take away from the actual 'meat' and arguments being presented and adds no answers of it's own. Everyone perceives their own farts differently we can all agree they smell though.

If consciousness simply means awareness than I could certainly understand plants having consciousness.

If we go by this definition then what about computers and other technology?
It can recognize errors, perform specific functions, respond to outside stimuli, does that not equate to some form of awareness?

 

Are you talking about stuff like programs, or artificial intelligence?
The former is sort of a shadow consciousness. It can respond to stimuli and perform functions, but only those that it is already pre-programmed to do. So in that sense, I'd say programs are more similar to machines than consciousness.
Things become more nebulous when talking about A.I. I suppose for me it depends on how advanced the artificial intelligence is we are talking about. If we think of stuff like NPC and enemy behavior in video games, that stuff is very limited in it's potentiality and is still in essence just a program. Not to venture into the realms of science fiction, but as artificial intelligence becomes more and more advanced, it's only natural for it to become more and more like it's progenitor (human intelligence). Theoretically, there must be a certain point where the two become indistinguishable, and whenever that point is reached, I guess we as a species will be forced to question how "conscious" reaction to stimuli truly is in the first place.
If you ask me, the mind is nothing but a machine that paradoxically fools itself into thinking it's own existence is real.

 

fair enough. although I did provide my beliefs that they are for sure are conscious.