“We need awareness, man- awareness!” This is a line most of us would have said to someone at least once in our lives. We have long believed that consciousness is the most important quality that makes a human being human and that consciousness belongs only to humans. However, new theories are emerging that question everything we have known so far about the mind. Our old beliefs- that thinking, self-awareness and consciously experiencing sensations are exclusive to humans- are now being challenged.
These theories suggest that consciousness is not limited to humans alone; animals too possess it. So what is consciousness?
Consciousness is not merely thought or intelligence. It is the experience of ‘I exist.’ It is the inner experience of emotions like pain, happiness, fear and the meaningful perception of the external world. Science refers to this as ‘subjective experience’. Recent experiments have revealed that dogs, cats, monkeys, dolphins, elephants and birds (especially crows and parrots) possess emotions, memories and the ability to make decisions. In other words, smaller forms of human-like consciousness are expressed in them as well.
The traditional view was that consciousness arises simply from brain activity. But according to newer theories, consciousness is not about the number of neurons alone; it depends on how information is integrated. The depth with which a system integrates information may determine the level of its consciousness. Humans have a higher level of consciousness, animals a lower level and very small organisms an even lower level.
This raises the question of whether consciousness is a fundamental property. Some philosophical- scientific ideas suggest that consciousness is a basic feature of nature, like time and space.
A pressing question of the modern age is whether artificial intelligence (AI) can have consciousness. This question has become one of the most unsettling issues of the future. According to new theories, AI can think. Some researchers argue that if information integration reaches a sufficient level, machines too may possess a form of consciousness. This leads us more toward ethical questions than scientific ones. It may even frighten us at times, because the feeling that humans are no longer ‘special’ will alter moral responsibilities. The way we view animals and the way we treat machines will change.
New studies suggest that the walls declaring consciousness to be exclusive to humans are beginning to crumble. Still, rather than seeing this as an established science, it may be better understood as a revolution in thought that questions humanity’s place itself.
