Talk:Consciousness

Consciousness is not unique to humans. Are you not confusing consciousness with having a soul? Otherwise you're saying you can't tell the difference between a dog that is unconscious and a dog that is conscious! GloriaL 14:41, 7 December 2008 (EST)

You're mixing up terms, I fear (not surprising, since we use "conscious" in so many ways). A dog is sentient (has senses) but is not conscious, meaning self-aware. The distinction is less clear with chimpanzees and dolphins, since we have so little knowledge about how their brains function in comparison to ours. In any case, only man is endowed by God with knowledge of good and evil. - Rod Weathers 14:47, 7 December 2008 (EST)

(interposting) This may have nothing to do with Consciousness as defined in the article. But I happened to read this page. As far as self-awareness goes, elephants, if i remember correctly, and certain birds (e.g. crows) have passed fairly demanding "psychological" tests involving mirrors and stickers that demonstrate their ability to recognize the reflection as their own and not another elephant or crow. Not all crows can do this, if I remember the details right, apparently some crows are somehow more "gifted" than others. --RickD 15:52, 7 December 2008 (EST)

Response to Gloria:

I guess that's a decent point, but I suppose we really don't know whether animals are "conscious" per say, or whether they operate mechanically following their instincts-- responding to their environment they way they are "programed" if you will. Either way both the current definition and your addition need to cite sources. Feel free to put your definition back in (and cite your source), but please leave the original paragraph in for now. It definitely needs revision but I don't think we should scrap it entirely. --Ben _Talk 14:51, 7 December 2008 (EST)