Volume 21: pp. 039-044

Invertebrate Consciousness: Taking Precautions or Finding the Truth?

Elizabeth S. Paul and Michael T. Mendl

Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol

Reading Options

Abstract

Research into the welfare of invertebrates (including farmed crustaceans, molluscs and insects) should not be seen as an alternative to the more challenging task of studying the phenomenon of consciousness itself. Here, we critique existing traditions in animal consciousness research, including the suggestion that apparent cognitive complexity is necessarily a good marker for the presence of a capacity for consciousness or sentience. We suggest that a new generation of consciousness research, focusing on functional and evolutionary approaches, is an ethically important goal in its own right for insuring the appropriate targeting of welfare concerns for invertebrate and vertebrate species alike.

Keywords: 

Author Note  Elizabeth S. Paul, Bristol Veterinary School, Langford House, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS40 5DU, United Kingdom.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Elizabeth S. Paul at e.paul@bristol.ac.uk