Guest guest Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 i wouldn't use the word conscience where i mean consciousness ... it has too many connections to the idea of morality ... and rats don't have a morality ... (or do they?) ... i think chimps, gorillas and other primates have a morality .. and dolphins might ... but as you slide down the scale of the animal kingdom (which for me includes humans).. morality blurs away ... as layers of the brain disappear .... till you get to the reptillian brain ... you really think that rats make decisions? ... has anyone seen a cat 'make a decision'? ("shall i pee in the litter tray or pee on the floor... hmm") or a dog? ... a horse? ... i think you're projecting your own mental capabilities onto the less-complex-brained, lower stratas of the animal kingdom ... i'm hesitant to include bird brains within the sliding scale because they should have their own... i say that because of Irene Pepperberg's work on African Grey parrots (my grandmother has one which is now about 50-60 years old...) and the difference between that level and the level of a Wren ... or a Robin ... or a Lovebird ... an Emu etc ... or a Stork... http://www.mecca.org/~rporter/PARROTS/grey_al.html Simon pJones [simonpjones]Friday, April 12, 2002 5:34 PM Subject: CONSCIENCE OT I'd be surprised if rats didn't have a conscience/an awareness to make decisions etc! PP, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 12, 2002 Report Share Posted April 12, 2002 I'd be surprised if rats didn't have a conscience/an awareness to make decisions etc! PP, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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