The word occult comes from the Latin occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to "knowledge of the hidden"
Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness,
saying even insects may be sentient
Far more animals than previously thought likely have consciousness, top scientists say in a new declaration — including fish, lobsters and octopus.
*This group's aim is polite philosophical debate*
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"Bees play by rolling wooden balls — apparently for fun. The cleaner wrasse fish appears to recognize its own visage in an underwater mirror. Octopuses seem to react to anesthetic drugs and will avoid settings where they likely experienced past pain.
All three of these discoveries came in the last five years — indications that the more scientists test animals, the more they find that many species may have inner lives and be sentient. A surprising range of creatures have shown evidence of conscious thought or experience, including insects, fish and some crustaceans.
That has prompted a group of top researchers on animal cognition to publish a new pronouncement that they hope will transform how scientists and society view — and care — for animals.
Nearly 40 researchers signed “The New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness,” which was first presented at a conference at New York University on Friday morning. It marks a pivotal moment, as a flood of research on animal cognition collides with debates over how various species ought to be treated.
The declaration says there is “strong scientific support” that birds and mammals have conscious experience, and a “realistic possibility” of consciousness for all vertebrates — including reptiles, amphibians and fish. That possibility extends to many creatures without backbones, it adds, such as insects, decapod crustaceans (including crabs and lobsters) and cephalopod mollusks, like squid, octopus and cuttlefish.
“When there is a realistic possibility of conscious experience in an animal, it is irresponsible to ignore that possibility in decisions affecting that animal,” the declaration says. “We should consider welfare risks and use the evidence to inform our responses to these risks.”
Jonathan Birch, a professor of philosophy at the London School of Economics and a principal investigator on the Foundations of Animal Sentience project, is among the declaration’s signatories. Whereas many scientists in the past assumed that questions about animal consciousness were unanswerable, he said, the declaration shows his field is moving in a new direction.
“This has been a very exciting 10 years for the study of animal minds,” Birch said. “People are daring to go there in a way they didn’t before and to entertain the possibility that animals like bees and octopuses and cuttlefish might have some form of conscious experience.”
In other studies, researchers found that zebrafish showed signs of curiosity when new objects were introduced into their tanks and that cuttlefish could remember things they saw or smelled. One experiment created stress for crayfish by electrically shocking them, then gave them anti-anxiety drugs used in humans. The drugs appeared to restore their usual behavior".read more www.nbcnews.com/…
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This group is named after "Complete illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences" a book by Walter B. Gibson 1966.A fun and interesting read.
Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an American writer and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow. Wikipedia
☆The 'Occult and Psychical Sciences' on DK
is a spooky group here on DK)☆
The group will consist of stories about the spooky and scary, personal anecdotes, and general Paranormal, New Age, folklore, Philosophical,metaphysical,Arcane, Esoteric,and Existential information,& conversation about the unexplained in the world and universe.
(& all Religion is welcome here in this space.)
People are encouraged to share their personal spooky experiences, philosophy, and similar influences. (Please contact me in kmail if you wish to join us).~A spookylink: psychicscience
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Here’s what the science says about animal sentience
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this area of study is that personality is discernible even in fish, which are often seen as being singularly lacking in emotional range. Scientists have found that the personality type of a fish may affect its likelihood of having certain parasites, or its ability to move past a barrier in a stream when on migration.
Why it matters
The reason that all these studies and the many others into animal emotions, personality and ability to feel pain, fear and stress, are important is the huge implications for animal welfare. Whether or not the law recognises animals as being sentient, those animals will still feel afraid, fail to cope or suffer pain during transport and slaughter, as well as in everyday situations.
theconversation.com/...
Animal sentience means that animals are sentient beings with thoughts, feelings, and individual personalities. Our scientific research and evidence irrefutably prove this. Animals have their own preferences, desires, and needs; we humans may not always know what they are.Animal Sentience - World Animal Protection
Animal Sentience: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Animal Feeling is a peer-reviewed academic journal.[1][2] Its subject matter, animal sentience, concerns what and how nonhuman animals think and feel as well as the scientific and scholarly methods of investigating it and conveying the findings to the general public.[3] The initial publisher was the Animal Studies Repository of the Institute for Science and Policy of The Humane Society of the United States,[4] now the Animal Studies Repository of WellBeing International.[5] The editor-in-chief is Stevan Harnad
Some Links:
Each year, billions of animals die for human ends. Elizabeth Barber surveys the literature—including new books by Martha Nussbaum and Peter Singer—to see how we might stop the suffering.
‘They live absolutely horrible lives’: RSPCA vows to reform treatment of chickens in UK
Animal charity marks its 200th anniversary with pledge to tackle the suffering of factory-farmed poultry
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Call us woke if you like, but all animals deserve the RSPCA’s protection
From snails to chickens, the organisation aims to stop suffering wherever it is found
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Our unequal earth
‘America is a factory farming nation’: key takeaways from US agriculture census