Tense Bees and Shell-Shocked Crabs
Are Animals Conscious?
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- $62.99
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- $62.99
Publisher Description
A consideration of some of the most common questions about animal minds.
Do birds have feelings? Can fish feel pain? Could a honeybee be anxious? For centuries, the question of whether or not animals are conscious like humans has prompted debates among philosophers and scientists. While most people gladly accept that complex mammals - such as dogs - share emotions and experiences with us, the matter of simpler creatures is much less clear. Meanwhile, the advent of the digital age and artificial intelligence has created an added dimension to questions about non-human consciousness.
In Tense Bees and Shell-Shocked Crabs, Michael Tye offers answers to some of today's most pressing questions about nonhuman consciousness. Blending the latest research about animal sensation with theories about the nature of consciousness, Tye develops a methodology for addressing the mysteries of the animal mind. Without endorsing any specific theory on the nature of consciousness, Tye tackles issues such as the animal experience of pain and fear, and the role of brain anatomy in determining consciousness. He then turns his attention to the artificial realm, considering whether complex robots could ever be considered conscious. Tye concludes with a discussion of how, if we consider animals conscious, this might impact our ethical obligations to them.
From insects to crabs, fish to birds, Tense Bees and Shell-Shocked Crabs offers an insightful exploration of the ways in which animals relate to the world. Tense Bees and Shell-Shocked Crabs will appeal to students and scholars of philosophy and neuroscience, as well as general readers with an interest in animal and environmental ethics.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tye, a philosopher at the University of Texas Austin, adopts a dual philosophical and biological approach in asking whether nonhuman animals are conscious beings. Philosophically, Tye attempts to define what it means to be conscious and to have experiences, as opposed to simply reacting mechanistically to environmental stimuli. Biologically, he summarizes numerous behavioral studies of animals, including fish, birds, and reptiles. Tye persuasively presents his fascinating scientific evidence; animals appear to be capable of far more complex behavioral responses and learning than many researchers previously imagined. His discussion of the philosophical underpinnings, however, is complicated and likely frustrating to the nonspecialist, with its heavy emphasis on semantics. In an ironic twist, Tye is extremely careful about his use of philosophical language yet is far more lax when it comes to biology. He repeatedly refers to "Mother Nature" and attributes intentional creative powers to it, failing to recognize that this is not how natural selection functions. Also, his final chapter, addressing the ethical treatment of animals, is too brief and superficial to add anything meaningful to that discussion. Tye does present a convincing conclusion, identifying as a form of speciesism the assumption that animals physiologically distinct from humans are not conscious and therefore unable to have meaningful experiences.
