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Crows Are Self-Aware Just Like Humans, And They May Be as Smart as Gorillas
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this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2024
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Yeah, I think self awareness is a really low bar that we tend to think we're special for having. And that this fallacy is part of why animal rights are basically shit.
The mirror test does show that an animal is self-conscious, in the sense that, it likely cares what others think and thus has a theory of mind. And you're right, it only proves self-consciousness, it doesn't prove its lack because as I stated earlier in the case of my rats, other senses might be involved that would produce that response.
Dogs too. Seem much more concerned with how each other smell than how each other look.
I never really understood why the default assumption is that consciousness is something unique to humans and we should default to assuming other animals are not conscious as opposed to the other way around.