我们与动物的相似之处超乎想象.docxVIP

我们与动物的相似之处超乎想象

Inrecentdecades，experimentshavebeguntocatchupwithwhatpeoplewhoworkcloselywithanimalshavealwaysknown–thatanimalshaveaninnerlife，andconsciousnessisn’tuniquelyhuman.

Consciousnessisaconceptthatisfiendishly（非常地）difficulttodefine.Therehavebeenmanyattempts：isitawareness，orawarenessofthatawareness，orself-awarenessinstead？Butausefulworkingdefinitionmightbethatitisanykindofsubjectiveexperience，rangingfromhowweperceivetheexternalworldtoourinnerthoughtsandemotions.

Animalsdifferintheirscoresforeachofthesefacetsofconsciousness.Membersofthecrowfamily，forexample，canbeskilledatlearningfrompastexperiences.Bothoctopusesandbeesappeartoenjoyplaying，suggestingtheycanexperiencepleasure，linkedtotheabilitytofeelthedifferencebetweengoodandbad.Thenumberofanimalsthatpassthefamousmirrortest–showingthattheyunderstandthattheanimalinthemirroristhem，andthustheyhaveasenseofselfhood（自我意识）–isever-growingandincludessomefishbutnotdogs.

FindingslikethispromptedagroupofscientistsinApriltowriteTheNewYorkDeclarationonAnimalConsciousness，whichnowhasover300signatories.

Asrecentlyas2012，scientistsfeltitwasnecessarytoissueaCambridgeDeclarationonConsciousness，whichstatedthat“theweightofevidenceindicatesthathumansarenotuniqueinpossessingtheneurologicalsubstratesthatgenerateconsciousness”.

Thatanimalshavesomeformofinnerlifemustsurelybeself-evidenttomanypeoplewholiveorworkwiththem，But，asthebiologistMarcBekoffwroteinNewScientistthathepersonallyfeelthatattemptstodivorceemotion，feelingandexperiencefromhowweseeanimalscanbejustasunscientific.Fortoolong，weassumedthathumansareuniqueandanimalsdon’tfeelpainoremotionsthewaythatwedo，aconvenientbutcruelnullhypothesis，whenwecouldhavestartedfromt