Seeing is believing: Searching for animal consciousness

Author: (English) Richard Dawkins / Jiang Zhigang / Zeng Yan / Yan Caie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-06-01
Features: Do you know whether animals' brains truly think? Do animals possess thoughts and emotions like humans? In short, do animals have consciousness? This remains one of the unsolved mysteries in biology. This book explores the path to solving this puzzle as a popular science read, written by Dr. Richard Dawkins from the University of Oxford, who conducts research on animal behavior. The author cites numerous new discoveries from animal behavior studies in the book, which have profoundly challenged the unbridgeable gap humans have constructed between themselves and animals. As you marvel at how animals can be so "like us," the idea that "animals also have consciousness" naturally emerges in your mind. However, the author also cautions us to be extremely careful when treating evidence of animal consciousness, to avoid making mistakes similar to the "Clever Hans" incident. Regardless, the hypothesis that animals have consciousness has taken a significant step from being considered a foolish and impossible assumption to being recognized as a reasonable and scientifically thought-worthy perspective.