'Irresponsible' to ignore consciousness across animal world scientists argue
Variability of Human Inner Experience
- Many comments challenge the article’s assumption of a “dense internal monologue” as universal.
- Several report constant verbal thought streams; others say they mostly think in images, feelings, or abstract concepts, with little or no inner voice.
- People debate what “internal monologue” even means: rehearsed sentences vs. a continuous narrator vs. occasional self-talk.
- Some link inner speech speed to preference for faster audio playback and differences in multitasking ability.
What Is Consciousness?
- Strong disagreement over definitions: consciousness vs. sentience vs. awareness vs. self‑awareness.
- Some argue consciousness is tied to subjective experience and suffering; others to self-observation or “pure awareness” (drawing on Eastern philosophies).
- A few treat consciousness as possibly illusory or not scientifically tractable, contrasting with those who see it as central to ethics.
- Panpsychism and spectrum views are discussed: from “rocks aren’t conscious” to “consciousness might be a graded property of all life or even matter.”
Animal Minds, Ethics, and Farming
- Many argue it’s obvious that mammals and birds are conscious to some degree, citing pets, livestock behavior, play, problem-solving, and dreams.
- Others stress we can’t prove other minds, only infer from behavior and neural structures.
- Big ethical fault line:
- Some say consciousness/sentience makes current factory farming and slaughter morally unacceptable.
- Others accept animal consciousness but justify meat as natural, nutritionally valuable, or ethically acceptable if animals live “good lives” and die quickly.
- Disagreement over where moral thresholds lie: intelligence, self-awareness, capacity to suffer, or reciprocity/social contract.
- Bees, insects, and even microbes are mentioned as possible cases of at least minimal cognition or play-like behavior, though some see this as over-interpretation.
Plants, Suffering, and Scope of Concern
- Several note emerging work on plant behavior and signaling, suggesting some form of “awareness,” raising questions for vegan ethics.
- Responses: veganism framed mainly as reducing suffering, not eliminating harm; if plants are sentient, animal agriculture still causes more total harm.
Diet, Health, and Practical Paths Forward
- Dispute over whether humans are “obligate carnivores.”
- Some cite position papers that well-planned vegetarian/vegan diets are adequate; others emphasize bioavailability issues and need for supplementation.
- Pragmatic proposals: improve welfare standards (humane slaughter, space, transport), and accelerate lab-grown meat to decouple meat-eating from animal suffering.