The Cambridge Declaration: Did We Solve the Question of Consciousness in Animals?

dc.contributor.author Zartman, Jackson D.
dc.contributor.majorProfessor Bracha, Vlastislav
dc.date.accessioned 2024-05-28T20:32:49Z
dc.date.available 2024-05-28T20:32:49Z
dc.date.copyright 2024
dc.date.issued 2024-05
dc.description.abstract How and why do humans, and potentially non-human organisms, experience consciousness? This question has been dubbed “the hard question of consciousness” and has been a topic of much debate among philosophers, psychologists, biologists, and practitioners of many more fields of study. The Cambridge Declaration states that consciousness definitively exists in non-human animals, these animals possessing the neurobiological substrates necessary for consciousness. However, there are issues with the declaration that suggest the provided proofs for their conclusion are not sufficient to make such a definitive statement. The Cambridge Declaration attempts to influence our perception of animals and our relationships with them, and despite the intended effects of the paper being noble and agreeable – implying that animals should be treated with more dignity and respect, to make us reevaluate the ways in which we interact with them – the declaration unfortunately fails to properly answer the hard question. In attempting to remove the question of consciousness from any philosophical influences and base it solely on observable physical qualia, they unfortunately fail to properly address the question in the first place. Neither the Cambridge Declaration nor its supporting research attempt to define consciousness in a consistent manner, and in fact even have conflicting conceptions of consciousness. Additionally, a unified or majorly agreed upon theory of consciousness has not yet been adopted by the scientific community. Due to these issues, the Cambridge Declaration should not be considered scientific doctrine, and should instead be disregarded, or perhaps amended, until such a time when a definitive answer to the hard question will, if ever, arise.
dc.identifier.uri https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/105837
dc.language.iso en_US
dc.rights.holder Jackson D. Zartman
dc.subject.disciplines DegreeDisciplines::Life Sciences::Neuroscience and Neurobiology::Cognitive Neuroscience
dc.subject.disciplines DegreeDisciplines::Social and Behavioral Sciences::Animal Studies
dc.subject.disciplines DegreeDisciplines::Arts and Humanities::Philosophy::Philosophy of Mind
dc.subject.keywords Consciousness
dc.subject.keywords Animals
dc.subject.keywords Cambridge Declaration
dc.subject.keywords Francis Crick Memorial Conference
dc.subject.keywords neuroscience
dc.subject.keywords philosophy
dc.subject.keywords brain
dc.subject.keywords neuron
dc.title The Cambridge Declaration: Did We Solve the Question of Consciousness in Animals?
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre creativecomponent
dspace.entity.type Publication
relation.isDegreeOrgUnitOfPublication 184db3f2-d93f-4571-8ad7-07c8a9e6a5c9
thesis.degree.department Biomedical Sciences
thesis.degree.discipline Biomedical Sciences
thesis.degree.level Masters
thesis.degree.name Master of Science
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