Animal Consciousness and Other Ideas - 320

Are animals self aware? Scientific evidence supports the assumption that it “feels like something” for a fish to be caught on a hook. Shawn and Leah have a bit of a lively discussion regarding animal consciousness. They talk about their dads, wedding preparations, taxes, television shows and more!

Scientists and philosophers across the globe agree it is reasonable to assume the vast majority of creatures on Earth are sentient in some way — including lobster, squid and the tiny flies that swarm over drinks left outside in the summer.

The New York Declaration on #Animal #Consciousness, released Friday, was signed by 39 cognition scholars at universities from Canada to Australia. It says there is “at least a realistic possibility” that all vertebrates and many invertebrates have conscious experience.

The declaration rests on recent scientific studies that show garter snakes can recognize their own scent, crows can report what they see, octopi can avoid pain and fruit flies can sleep — and they sleep best when they’re with other fruit flies.

Also on this episode are discussions about fears, and how much work has been recently dumped onto Letter Carriers. #Television shows mentioned include #Fallout, #Crusade, #Robocop and #Star Trek Discovery. Leah and Shawn's dad started planting in the greenhouse. They sat and shared their seeds.

This week's podcast promo: Cosmic Pizza