2024/060: Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses — Jackie Higgins

2024/060: Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Our Senses — Jackie Higgins

Sentience ...describes our ability to sense the world around us.... [it is] the foundation on which the mirage of consciousness shimmers. Scientists and philosophers debate whether animals experience consciousness, but most readily ascribe to them the pared-down version of sentience. [loc. 36]

Contrary to received wisdom, humans don't have five senses -- modern cognitive neuroscience suggests that there are more than twenty, possibly as many as thirty-three. Higgins uses a number of examples from non-human animals such as mantis shrimp, star-nosed moles, cheetahs, spiders and octopuses to explore various senses and compare the human and animal sensoria. ( Read more... )