Seeing is believing -- Searching for animal consciousness

Author: (English) Richard Dawkins, translated by Jiang Zhigang, Zeng Yan, Yan Cae, and Yan Cae
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-06-01
Features: Do you know whether animals' brains really think? Do animals have thoughts and emotions like humans? In short, do animals possess consciousness? This is one of the unsolved mysteries in biology to this day. 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 lists numerous new discoveries from animal behavior studies, which have strongly challenged the unbridgeable gap humans have constructed between themselves and animals. As you marvel at how much animals "resemble us," the idea that "animals also have consciousness" will naturally arise in your mind. However, the author also warns us to be cautious when treating evidence of animal consciousness, to avoid making mistakes similar to the "Clever Hans" incident. Regardless, the hypothesis that animals possess 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.