AWARENESS IN DOMESTICATED ANIMALS - CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Humans will probably never experience the awareness of another species , but adopting a broad concept of awareness leads to the conclusion th at other species have some awareness. The existence of a more complex mind in humans, compared with other species, leads some to suggest tha t awareness only exists in humans. We postulate that humans possess a significantly increased level of awareness, facilitated in particular by the acquisition of language, but that generally animals possess a l evel of awareness that is appropriate to their needs. Categories of aw areness can be devised by identifying levels, such as are used in the identification of the conscious state in humans, or by ranking states of awareness in order of complexity. A scheme is proposed that combine s these two approaches, which is considered suitable for use with dome sticated animals. The advantages of identifying awareness as being sen sation-, perception- or cognition-based are discussed, as well as the possibility of a scheme based on the degree and site of CNS processing . Finally, the acquisition of awareness by learning and inheritance is considered, and it is argued that in variable environments, animals w ill evolve increased awareness, whereas in very stable environments th e energetic cost of awareness will encourage the evolution of less awa re animals. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.