Originally Posted by iontheable
"Ionthetable" haha preferably pine ")
Anyhow, that's a really interesting observation Polly. Honestly, the thought of whether or not other creatures are concious doesn't fascinate me too much. But that doesnt mean I dont enjoy reading recounts of situations, such as the one you've presented.
On that note, I've observed many humans 'rolling around on a dead bird, just to satisfy their surrounding peers'
Ion the Table ... has a ring to it, dunnit?
Yeah, there I think they do have conscious thought - it's all a matter of degree. They are just more present moment - they don't seem able to conceptualise, recall and project into the future as we do but they definitely think and strategise in a limited way in the present moment.
They see and understand the patterns of activity around them and adapt to them just as we do. It's beyond just classical conditioning.
If all animals have no conscious thought then why do they have differing levels of intelligence. What is the cognition difference between a dog and, say, a beetle? It's as profound as the difference between a human and a dog, maybe more so.
C'mon GD, this is for you ... put up yer dukes :)