Human and Animal Consciousness.
The history of humanity is a reflection of the history
of the evolution of human consciousness. Behind every historical event lies a
matrix of beliefs that reveal the state of consciousness of the individuals and
groups at that period of time. Humanity has gone a long way from the animal to
the conscious being. From survival in clans to belonging in tribalism;
from self esteem in feudalism, to common heritage in nationalism, on to the
cohesion of shared vision in democracy and onto globalisation with establishment
of global institutions of governance to promote the economic, social, and
environmental sustainability of humanity and the planet. Yet after this passage
through aeons of time, you might ask; after all this, how then do humans differ
from animals?
Many will respond that people possess consciousness,
and animals don't. However, there is yet no general consent on what
consciousness is, and how one could check its presence in humans and its
absence in animals. There is a vagueness to the fundamental notion, we have consciousness,
they don’t. We are not going to spend time discussing the inner life of
a snail - is it thinking, ‘I must do something about this carapace, it’s most
uncomfortable,’ etc. It is therefore a vague notion that distinguishes us from
what we might consider inferior creatures. This indeterminate notion seems even
more vague when we are reminded by Marks (2003) that “...human genome research
has revealed that we are just 2% different from chimpanzees genetically.” (What
It Means to Be 98% Chimpanzee Apes, People, and Their Genes p186).
When defining the difference between us and
them, many people might claim that ‘we’ have evolved. With the use
of the word ‘evolved,’ thoughts naturally turn to Darwin, and it is interesting
to note, Rachels, The Moral Implications of Darwinism (1991), that
Darwin never liked evolution as a term, using it only because of its general
currency. Indeed, in the Origins of Species (1871 p. 445) Darwin found
it necessary to claim that there was “...no fundamental difference” between the
mental faculties of humans and apes, not only in their physical construction
but in their “mental faculties” as well. This has led some, Marks (2003) for
example, to argue that apes, the benchmark by which humans measure their similarity
to all other animals, are entitled to the rights of humans.
Watching some animal behaviour programmes on
television, I have been led to wonder, far-fetched though it may seem, whether
apes possess a sense of awe. Could these ‘cousins’ of ‘ours’ even distinguish
between the benign and the sublime? Does the ape in the forest reflect on the
impending power of a coming storm, or does it marvel as it observes the majesty
of a setting sun? Many might reply that it is only us that have a sense
of wonder and awe. But whether consciously experienced by our cousin primates,
or just by us, suffering, pleasure and grief are by-products of
consciousness, and so is desire. None of those personal states would ever be
known to each of us without consciousness.
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