Do social animals possess consciousness?
Plenty of animals live in groups. But some groups are more complex and sophisticated than others. Some animals live in groups that form, for example, as a defensive measure. Birds and fish flock for just that reason. But that’s it. Other animals live in groups and play active roles in maintaining the integrity of the group. Researchers have observed this with primates, corvina, elephants and cetaceans. It now looks as if pigs join that club too. With such a welter of social emotions packed on top of the primary emotions, there is surely a neuronal device to assist in prioritising the right emotion. Step forward, consciousness. Read my book to see how it works (https://www.thesentientrobot.com/book/).
You may also like to browse other ethology posts: https://www.thesentientrobot.com/category/ethology/
