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Home , Brain size, Emotional intelligence, Mirror test

BSJ • 1 2 ssue I • 15 olume • V 2011• pring S •

Studies in suggest, however, however, suggest, in evolution Studies iction F The question of animal has such question of The cience such are because and consciousness that it is mechanisms, and advantageous complex farther can be traced their origins likely that back and split between than the phylogenic also support in animal Studies the . because they in primates, of consciousness “theory of mind,” have primates that demonstrate faculties of of the mental or the ability conceive to Theory of of mind is a good indicator other beings. • S deep implications into the psyche that for for that psyche human the into implications deep blatantly animal consciousness conceding some, and Consciousness undermines the will of god. uniquely human traits are some people, emotion, to of human in the process can only be generated that the most part, for is, claim that development—a the fact by human minds are that substantiated most intelligent those of the world’s far superior to primates. capabilities onto animals, such as in the Betty Thomas’ Thomas’ as in the Betty such animals, capabilities onto Finding Doctor Stanton’s Dolittle (1998), Andrew majorityNemo (2003), and the vast Disney of all world, natural the of study the is science if Yet, movies. reject observationsscientists do many of animal why them as a starting than using emotion rather in point of animal consciousness? the investigation

ournal J Perhaps it is not so far-fetched to see animals with as to not so far-fetched it is 1. Perhaps Figure In fact, be. ascribed it to described the possibilities in the Risepeople have The notions. than today’s reality be closer to may of the Apes of the Planet the Rise of the Apes. from of the Planet picture is a scene above cientific S s rimate : P erkeley B in ine ss us sness onsciou B consciousness?”

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point in the investigation of animal point in the investigation rather than using them as a starting alike have all experienced a moment where they felt they felt where a moment all experienced alike have A veryit was . an animal was clear what a rhesus furrowing its chest in , beating calling and a in , its eyebrows of animal occurrences all common are out in interpretation Planet’s Animal emotion in primates. be considered bravery would of Jordan’s scientists. many by anthropomorphic blatantly is the false projection of human Anthropomorphism “There’s calm since Hamlet’s return, but it is but return, Hamlet’s calm since “There’s the … . between mostly an uneasy peace outsider Mangis zeros delicate Stirring up trouble, sack, but food his unsuspectingfor an on in Jordan is rightfully his. what defend to afraid isn’t Jordan communities transforms Conflict the between two his lose could Jordan which in perilousa contest into 2008). (DiscoveryCommunications life” of the 1968 sci-fi classic, Planet of the Apes. The Apes. Planet of the classic, of the 1968 sci-fi “What will he [the astronaut] chimp asks, female doctor and the doctor?” find out there, “His British accent, in a slight chimp answers chimps far are how world, In today’s Destiny.” But far. Very “destiny?” of a conceiving from a distinct be at over may advantage primates becoming other on their journey to us time and time show Primates philosophers. if not emotions, least have at they again that The them. recognize to the consciousness is an episode summary Animal following from show a unique Island, Planet’s orangutans. of 32 captive detailing the lives male on the island: Hamlet is a dominant

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Manisha Rai M E BSJ 2 • 3 # ssue I • 15 olume • V 2011 • pring S •

iction F Evidence of consciousness in primates is in primates of consciousness Evidence cience Although Menzel’s research on primates on primates research Menzel’s 2. Although Figure on their implications pictures, yielded humorous serious: animalsthese profoundly are what to is similar which self, sense of a actuallyhave humans have. million years ago, have the beginnings of a . In of a brain. beginnings the have ago, years million years million 520 least at took brain the words, other that accepted is generally it Furthermore, develop. to such as the opposable traits, recognizable such largely but rather of one mutation, not the result are thumb, recombinations, mutations, of many a combination consciousness, that believe It to reasonable etc. is more significantly took benefits, with its multiple or just one years million eight to than just four mechanism that the complex into evolve to mutation in evolutionary In line with all other trends it is today. recognize least be able to should at we development, generally scrutinized because it does not explicitly it does not explicitly because scrutinized generally specifically linked certainconnect are why behaviors is weakened the evidence Rather, consciousness. to for account may conditioning factthe operant by that so-calledconditioning Operant . conscious or rewarded are behaviors is when a subject’s an ability learn to which proves punished repeatedly, causes a lever pressing (i.e. relationship a causal previous that It of food). prove does not the release abilityto the subject’s influenced have experiences different that be shown if it could learn. However, in unique the same situation to individuals responded would such results for the only explanation ways, levels on different operating are the animals be that the animals are that show would This of experience. and their past experiences record indeed able to a their decision making them into process, integrate Cynthia consciousness (Millsresult of 1997). definite Mills,in Unusual Suspects in Animals), (Deception W. Emil reports ethologist done by experiments two the beginnings of consciousness in primates. in primates. of consciousness the beginnings • S

ournal J cientific S erkeley B have died out by now”. have evolutionarily favorable as favorable evolutionarily “If consciousness were not not were “If consciousness Insplit evolutionaryonly hominids the scheme, Psychologist Nicholas Humphrey believes Nicholas believes Humphrey Psychologist Consciousness, in addition to emotion, is emotion, to addition in Consciousness, elaborated above, it surely would it surely above, elaborated off from four to eight million years ago. years ago. million to eight four chimpanzees off from few hominids, the first after this divergence, Even and boisei, had africanus, afarensis, Reece, of ours (Campbell, only 1/3 the size a brain Mitchell1999). Evolutionary history suggests that humans today’s in see we that trait a of adoption the see can We develop. to years of millions many takes the of the modern brain, in the appearance this trend fertilization,method of internal and the opposable the modern to contributors all large which are thumb, of as groups linearly, developed brain The . The in size. increased or ganglia, slowly nerve cells, the animal kingdom in size distribution of brain shows which lancelets, such as simple animals, even that 520 than more chordate ancestral the from off split consciousness is most useful because we can use the is most useful because we consciousness predict others’ emotions to of our own awareness actions involves (Cartmill 1998). Consciousness simultaneously knowing oneself and comprehending external, and internal of images, the constant energy is a tremendous This one encounters. that the Cartmill that the insight offers expenditure. evolutionary is periods of total of consciousness price is during which an organism or sleep, unconsciousness, if consciousness Therefore, (Cartmillvulnerable 1998). above, as elaborated favorable not evolutionarily were animals Many now. by out died have would surely it periods of sleep— go through other than primates this supports is found consciousness that the model of animal on the hierarchy levels different many at complexity; it is not an all or nothing phenomenon. supremely advantageous for multiple . It is the multiple reasons. for advantageous supremely the images one has comprehended ability integrate to and choice the thus, the decision-makinginto process; Additionally, delivery informed. actions of more are is emotions own one’s recognizing of effect side a emotions. others’ recognize sometimes being able to diversity of human emotions. emotions. of human diversity

consciousness. Damasio Damasio consciousness. on a conducted an experiment brain who had severe patient him prohibited damage that new, learning anything from people, tastes, sounds, including one week, For etc. occurrences, with him interact had scientists him who treated guy,” “good a very with all and complied nicely 2 ssue I • Manipulating our actions to enhance survival Manipulatingactionsour enhance to Experiencing is different than knowing Experiencing sadness is different The recognition of those emotions by the the by emotions of those recognition The 15 is the essence of learning, which furtherswhich learning, of essence idea the is the advantageous. evolutionarily emotions are that in plausible entirely are emotions Nonconscious biological are emotions their core, animals because at unique to not on equipment rely mechanisms that It humans. reportedbeen neocortex,has the that 75% sensory for which processes accounts input, and 80% in chimpanzees volume brain of the total of sensoryin humans (Budiansky 1998). Processing able are which inducers by avenue input is the major the brain 30% of opposed to cause emotion. As to small difference the relatively in hedgehogs, volume in the wide result may humans and chimps between that one is experiencing sadness. This distinction This is vital one is experiencing sadness. that Nonconscious consciousness. the study of animal to brain, the detectedby not are that ones or emotions, are Such instances in humans. be recorded can even of the factevidence do not necessitate emotions that who “bad guy,” and a guy,” “neutral a of his requests, every him rudely and said no to single one of treated when he had (Damasio 1999, 41). Later, his requests met these people, he had even that recollection zero a as to go likely most would he who asked was he chose the He consistently friend or if he had a request. had clearly patient The else. anyone good guy over the good, of the visual representations associated emotions of and to and bad guys neutral, the that concluded scientists The , respectively. nonconscious, if they are even mind uses emotions, link actions to and outcomes like those of this patient, the better what anticipate of those actions to in order will be nextchoice time (Damasio 1999). organism’s brain is evidence for self-awareness, or self-awareness, for is evidence brain organism’s and past of present A recognition consciousness. past ability in the integrate to results emotions making our decision into experiences process, as our Accordingly, later. be discussed which will birth from early develops through consciousness . so does our emotional childhood,

olume • V 2011• pring S • “Emotions are purely “Emotions are purely and internal stimuli.” iction F biological responses to external biological responses to cience • S ournal J cientific S Emotions are purely purely Emotions are Much of the debate over animal emotion is fueled fueled is emotion animal over debate Muchthe of erkeley biological responses to to responses biological external and internal an emotion When stimuli. it causes is induced, changes in numerous mechanisms, involuntary such as heart rate, chemical These etc. digestion, hormonal levels, in characteristicthe in modifications result changes regulators and internal body posture, facial features, detect to beings other by used eventually are that a highly acclaimed Damasio, Antonio emotions. the sentiments humanist and neuroscientist, emotions have of his peers when he suggests that He argues context. main purposes two in a scientific “The first function is the production of a specific that (Damasio 1999, the inducing situation” reaction to is someone let us suppose that this, illustrate To 55). angry Ifhuman. another are they by at attacked being in them fight inclined to more are they attacker, the which is evolutionarily situation, threatening this life biological “the second He continues, advantageous. internal the of functionregulation the is emotion of it can be prepared such that of the organism state That (Damasio 1999, 55). reaction” specific that for attacks if their in defense effective more they are is, normallyspent energy because anger, by fueled are functionson bodily redirected are such as digestion they can fight muscles of their extremities so that to emotion would animals having Thus, force. more with make evolutionary because an emotion helps sense, one carry out actions survival effectively, for more of whether or not the animal is conscious regardless of its be aware animal needn’t An of those emotions. attack. in a stronger result the anger to anger for by a misunderstanding about what emotion actually about what a misunderstanding by as the idea who dismiss many Specifically, entails. mistakenly lumping the idea are anthropomorphic of those emotions. consciousness of emotions with Passionate Animal Emotions: Exploring in Bekoff, Marc wary was who Darwin out that points himself, Natures, “there that admits animal consciousness, of conceding of humans the emotional lives between is continuity differences the and that animals, and those of other than kind” rather in degree are animals among many (Bekoff 2000, 861). consciousness, because it requires the individual to to the individual requires it because consciousness, a self and of the other, a sense of self, a sense have emotions. own of one’s awareness B

2 • BSJ Menzel and Andrew Whiten which demonstrate the indicating the proper box by pointing--a skill of Hobson’s compilation of many experiments which intellectual difference between two primates: Another commonly accepted consequence of chimpanzees do not readily learn--Whiten abruptly he believes demonstrate these eight components. consciousness is what scientists call “theory of mind,” changed the scenario. Now Whiten hid the food and “Even among the lowest invertebrates, four of the On a number of occasions Menzel hid grapefruits or the ability to conceive of the of another left. Next the keeper walked into the room and hid components are unequivocally present. These and other food in a field, letting a chimp named Belle organism with the same mental faculties that the the key to the boxes. Whiten reentered. If Panzee had primary reflexive animals have relatively few neurons watch. When Menzel let other chimps into the field, individual does. A well known experiment concerning learned to get the food through trial and error alone, interposed between those conveying sensory signals Belle led them to the food. The problem was, Belle this aspect of consciousness is Gordon Gallup Jr.’s she would still have pointed to the box. Instead, on in and motor signals out. But those neurons…are herself often did not get to eat: if a big, dominant male “ test.” In this test, chimps are exposed to a her first try, she pointed to where the key was hidden capable of generating remarkably well-organized named Rock was around, he would drive her away mirror, and their reactions are recorded. Then, they are (Mills 1997). behaviors” (Hobson 1999, 90). Hobson’s work is a from the food with bites and kicks. anaesthetized and a red dot is put on their eyebrow. detailing of the manifestation of the gradient of So Belle got smart. She began going to the food and The reactions of the chimps to their own image consciousness across many species. sitting on it. Then Rock got smart. If Belle sat in one in the mirror are then recorded again to see if the place, he went over, drove her away and uncovered the chimps touch the mirror or touch their eyebrow. They Consciousness as an all-or-none food. Belle tried stopping before she reached the food. consistently touch their eyebrows, which lead Gallup to phenomenon, though still a popular belief, is Rock followed and searched from where she stopped. conclude (with references to other experiments) that becoming increasingly outdated as scientists break Belle tried going in the wrong direction until she they develop self-consciousness in pre-- adolescence it up into more and more constituent parts. Animal could see that Rock was not looking. Rock pretended (Gallup 1998). This self consciousness is a basis for the consciousness as a symptom of anthropomorphism, not to look, or hid behind a tree to watch her, dashing chimps being able to attribute mental states to others in contrast, is decreasing in prevalence. Primates

out as soon as she went to the food. Eventually Menzel (which will be called empathy from here on out). demonstrate time and time again that they have BSJ tried helping Belle by hiding a single piece of food in some level of consciousness, if only a small degree one place and a larger stash in another. Belle led Rock The ability to show empathy as a result of of emotional self awareness. In a way, Planet of the to the one piece and then, while he was eating, ran consciousness is in congruence with Humphrey’s Apes has similar intentions to animal consciousness BSJ offend uncovered the large stash. When Rock started assertion that one large evolutionary advantage of researches; the to make sense of the creatures to ignore the single piece in favor of following Belle, consciousness is the ability to predict another’s actions with which humans feel a natural, undeniable bond. she ran out of ideas. She by reading their emotions. References had temper tantrums… The test has been performed Bekoff, Marc. 2000. Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures. …Whiten then repeated many times since, on an BioScience 50, no.10: 861–870. Budiansky,Stephen. 1998. If a Lion Could Talk: Animal Intelligence and the what Menzel had done, “Self consciousness is a basis array of different animals, but Figure 3. Hobson’s idea of a gradient asserts that consciousness is Evolution of Consciousness. 1 ed. New York: Diane Publishing Company. using a young chimp only chimps, orangutans, not an all-or-none phenomenon. This table breaks consciousness into Campbell, Neil A., Jane B. Reece, and Lawrence G. Mitchell. 1999. Biology. 5 ed. Glenview: Benjamin/Cummings. named Mercury as the for the chimps being able to and humans are able to pass distinct functions in order to better understand such a gradient. Adapted Cartmill, Matt. 1998. Animal Minds, Animal Dreams. Natural History, informed party and the test consistently. Gallup from Hobson, J. Allen. Consciousness. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman March. attribute mental states to Damasio, Antonio. 1999. The Feeling of What Happens : Body and an older male named suggests that , even and Company, 1999. Emotion in the Making of Consciousness. New York: Harcourt Brace. Sherman as the bully. though they too are part of the Discovery , LLC. E pisode Guide : Orangutan Island : others” Animal Planet. Animal Planet : Pets, Wild Animals, Dog Breeds, Breeds. Mercury did not try to great ape family, cannot pass http://animal.discovery.com/tv/orangutan-island/episode/episode.html draw Sherman away from the test because as a social Observations of animal empathy, both in the (accessed June 18, 2010). the food, as Belle had done norm, they never look eye to informational context (I understand what you know) Gallup Jr., Gordon. 1998. Can Animals Empathize? Yes. Scientific American, Winter. with Rock. Instead he stayed away from the bananas eye with each other; therefore, the gorillas may be and the traditional context (I understand what you Hobson, J. Allen. 1999. Consciousness. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and until he had lured Sherman into an enclosure with a hesitant to look in the mirror at all (Gallup 1998). feel), are perhaps the most promising avenue of Company. Mills, Cynthia. 1997. Unusual Suspects. Sciences 37, no. 4 (July/August), http://0- female. While they were enjoying a mutual grooming producing unequivocal evidence demonstrating find.galegroup.com.mill1.sjlibrary.org/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM (accessed session, Mercury made a beeline for the bananas Even critics of Gallup’s methods, who asserts that animal consciousness, because empathy ties together March 14, 2009). Panksepp, Jaak. 2004. The Foundations of Human and and had them all to himself. He not only invented a the chimps are expressing “a motor self-concept rather two major components of consciousness: reading Animal Emotions (Series in ). Illustrated ed. New York: scheme entirely different from Belle’s (proof that her than a psychological one,” (Gallup 1998, 5) concede others’ emotions and having theory of mind, which Oxford University Publishing. deceptions were not preprogrammed); he invented a that chimps appear to understand what others know. both require that the individual has a concept of better one. (Mills 1997) Whiten, too, has shown incontrovertible evidence that themselves. Image Sources chimps display theory of mind: http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/rise-planet-apes-john-lith- gow.jpg Realize that the way animals process past Mills finds in her study of animal deception, which http://notbadscience.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/chimp_mirror.jpg experiences is largely through emotions that they [Whiten] went to Georgia State University and set up she believes to be an indicator of animal consciousness, Hobson, J. Allen. Consciousness. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1999. associate with them (i.e. Rock the chimp “remembers” a special test for a chimpanzee named Panzee... First that there is a large gradient of capabilities. J. Allen http://s4.hubimg.com/u/876603_f260.jpg to steal the food from under Belle, because the Panzee would see a keeper hide food in one of two Hobson, a leader in the study of consciousness, http://afflictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Expression_of_the_Emo- last time he did that, it resulted in the emotion of locked boxes. Then Whiten would enter and Panzee, furthers that a gradient of consciousness is evident tions_Figure_18.png http://libcom.org/files/monkey%5B2%5D.jpg http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eh862Z- happiness for him). Integrating experiences into the to get some food, would have to indicate to Whiten from low level to high level organisms, and details k4jL8/TAlEMtgs1kI/AAAAAAAAAKA/1vNz_KtiVvk/spark1440.jpg decision making processes requires the awareness of which locked box the food was in. Whiten would this with thirteen facets of consciousness, with the one’s own emotions (recall that this is the definition of unlock the box and Panzee would get the food. most intelligent nonhuman animals exhibiting eight consciousness). When Panzee could do that dependably, even of these components (89). Figure 1 shows a summary

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