Blog #174--Non-human Consciousness Becoming More Obvious

Inky the octopus made international headlines recently. It escaped from the National Aquarium of New Zealand and returned to the sea. We sometimes hear of animals escaping their enclosures, but this situation was unique. Octopuses are able to change shapes because they have no skeletal structure. Inky used this to advantage, along with awareness far beyond what many people wish to believe is possible for its species.

Noticing a small opening in the top of its tank, Inky climbed out of its prison, slithered over to a small drain pipe opening, squeezed through it and slid all the way back to the ocean and freedom. This required a previous knowledge of existing structures and a plan of action when an opportunity arose. And it demonstrated a degree of consciousness a majority of people continue to deny about non-human species.

I spoke about consciousness in my book “It’s a Secret, so Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life.” I provided a possible solution to the dilemma of consciousness-formation. After all, scientists are still grappling with the mechanism for creating conscious thought. I shared how our cat Samson was consciously aware from the day we obtained him as an 8-week-old kitten until the day he passed 15 years later. And I confidently stated that at least some members of many species are as conscious as some humans.

A number of scientists are doing the studies necessary to prove this contention. In fact, a noted group of international scientists, including Stephen Hawking and others with highly credible reputations, attended the Francis Crick Memorial Conference July 7, 2012, in Cambridge, England. They agreed that non-human life forms are conscious. Their comments included the following:

“Convergent evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuroanatomical, neurochemical, and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states along with the capacity to exhibit intentional behaviors. Consequently, the weight of evidence indicates that humans are not unique in possessing the neurological substrates that generate consciousness. Non-human animals, including all mammals and birds, and many other creatures, including octopuses, also possess these neurological substrates.”

This statement may be too technical for some readers, but its conclusion is remarkable considering how long humans have resisted seeing themselves as equal to rather than superior to other species. The conference participants included species that have no neocortex in their brains, such as birds and some encephalopods like the octopus, once considered essential to consciousness formation:

“The absence of a neocortex does not appear to preclude an organism from experiencing affective states."

Our definition of sentient life includes self-awareness. Studies demonstrate clearly that great apes like the chimpanzee, dolphins, and elephants can become aware they are looking at themselves in a mirror. Magpies also show a remarkable degree of self-awareness. Others like gorillas are conscious but may not look directly at themselves in a mirror because their instinct is to look away from others out of respect. Some other non-human primates may appear to see themselves as an enemy and run away because it is their instinct to demonstrate fear and not because they are incapable of eventually recognizing themselves in a mirror.

Sy Montgomery recently wrote a book called “The Soul of an Octopus.” An extensive study of several individual octopuses led her to conclude they are highly intelligent and aware. In an interview with Leslie Thatcher for truth-out.org 4/19/16, she described the reality that we tend to judge other species by comparing them with humans. But if an octopus were evaluating humans, it might compare us with itself. Montgomery shares the following anecdote:

“I love the guy who said if an octopus were trying to measure human intelligence, it might ask how quickly a human’s severed arm would change color.”

In other words, there are a wide range of ways various species interpret the world around them. To truly understand them is to empathize with them. That requires we look for that which is similar between us rather than different. The more we look at them for our commonality, the more we find ourselves in them. Humans are not at the top of some man-made hierarchy, but it has taken us thousands of years to begin to understand this. Montgomery agrees:

“The idea of the tree of life is a beautiful metaphor, but it is not ladderlike: it doesn’t start in the dirty ground and end with us humans up above on the top with the angels...There are definitely ways of understanding the reality of the world that we humans cannot access with our senses. Other creatures, including birds, can see colors we can’t—and we know these colors are real. There are truths out there that have been discovered by other species that we may never discover and understand.”

It will still be a long time before a majority of humans accept this reality and comprehend its meaning. Can we continue to use other life forms in research when we know they are our brothers and sisters? Can we continue to capture and enclose various species in zoos and aquariums when we would not wish to be treated that way?

Montgomery has a balanced perspective on this dilemma. She realizes research is necessary, and zoos and aquariums will continue to exist. Research can prove beneficial to humans and other species. Zoos and aquariums give a larger segment of the human population a chance to observe and commune with others that may look and behave differently from them but share life on Earth.

At least, Montgomery hopes we can begin to treat these other life forms with the respect and care they deserve and look for better ways of working with them that can help us without harming them. They deserve no less.

My thanks go out to Inky and the other animals that have helped us awaken to our extended family. I have no doubt Inky is happier at home in the ocean where it belongs. But its contribution to our understanding has given it a great purpose, and it has fulfilled that purpose admirably. May we all benefit from its place in history.

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