Studying Animal Feelings: Integrating Sentience Research and Welfare Science
The goal of this article is to bring together two fields of research — animal sentience research and animal welfare science — with the aim of advancing our understanding of animal emotions, especially their subjectively experienced or ‘felt’ component (feelings). While these two research areas share a common interest in animal feelings, they have had […]
Why Are Octopuses Going to Be the ‘Poster Child’ for Invertebrate Welfare?
Animal welfare consideration and actions are generally addressed to animals similar to us, predominantly large mammals. Invertebrates are neglected partly because they are unknown, though new exploration of the oceans has helped with this. Also, we know little about their ecology and welfare. This is gradually changing, and the octopuses are likely to be the […]
The Brain, Unconsciousness and Death: A Critical Appraisal with Regard to Halal Meat Production
Muslims derive their dietary laws from the Quran (Islamic Holy Book) and other Islamic scriptures. These religious scriptures prohibit them from consuming meat from animals that die before they are bled-out. Some Muslim authorities have interpreted this to mean that, in addition to the animal being alive, it must also be conscious prior to neck-cutting. […]
Phenomenology 2005: Selected essays from North America
Animal minds, cognitive ethology, and ethics
Our goal in this paper is to provide enough of an account of the origins of cognitive ethology and the controversy surrounding it to help ethicists to gauge for themselves how to balance skepticism and credulity about animal minds when communicating with scientists.We believe that ethicists’ argumentswould benefit from better understanding of the historical roots […]
Cognitive ethology, take three: Fascinating and frustrating questions about animal minds
Review of Animal Minds: Beyond Cognition to Consciousness by Donald R. Griffin
A user’s guide to animal welfare science
Here, I provide a guide for those new to the burgeoning field of animal welfare science as to what this comprehensive, relatively young discipline is all about. Drawing on all branches of biology, including behavioural ecology and neuroscience, the science of animal welfare asks three big questions: Are animals conscious? How can we assess good […]
D.G.M. Wood-Gush Memorial lecture: Why has there not been more progress in animal welfare research?
Four possible answers to the question of why there has not been more progress in animal welfare research are discussed: (1) that the subject matter might be beyond the scope of scientific enquiry; (2) that the commonly employed approaches and methodologies might be faulty; (3) that the approaches are sound but that more time is […]
Measuring emotional processes in animals: the utility of a cognitive approach
Contemporary researchers regard emotional states as multifaceted, comprising physiological, behavioural, cognitive and subjective components. Subjective, conscious experience of emotion can be inferred from linguistic report in humans, but is inaccessible to direct measurement in non-human animals. However, measurement of other components of emotion is possible, and a variety of methods exist for monitoring emotional processes […]
There are no known differences in brain mechanisms of consciousness between humans and other mammals
Recent scientific findings indicate that consciousness is a fundamental biological adaptation. The known brain correlates of consciousness appear to be ancient phylogenetically, going back at least to early mammals. In all mammals alertness and sensory consciousness are required for the goal-directed behaviors that make species survival and reproduction possible. In all mammals the anatomy, physiology, […]