Re:The Consciousness of Invertebrates
by Smithalicious on Wednesday June 09, 2021 @01:53AM
(#27444660)
I used to love eating meatball sandwiches as a kid. Ate them once while I had the flu, threw up, still can't eat them without gagging today years later. That doesn't particularly say much about my intelligence. Humans have phobias too.
Will you refuse to eat unless someone guards you during dinner in an otherwise empty house? Attack your roommate cat because you saw a strange cat out the window and now think your roommate is that cat?
>Will you refuse to eat unless someone guards you during dinner in an otherwise empty house?
No, but I will close the bathroom door when I shit, even in an empty house. I imagine that's almost the same instinct.
Humans think dogs are not conscious because they don't recognize themselves in a mirror, and if the roles were reversed dogs would probably conclude the same about us since we don't even recognize our own pee.
As humans we tend to hold other animals only to our own standards, even if we often wouldn't score that well by theirs.
I think dogs are a bit smarter, but my aunt's dog checks behind the TV every single time there's an animal on screen.