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Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 7 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/biodiversity@mander.xyz

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[-] umbrella@lemmy.ml 30 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

i have always assumed its on a spectrum

[-] SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Same,more neurons create more complexity but not necessarily more acute distress. Although you could imagine there’s only so much distress a 100 neurons could create. That being said if you watch a bacteria get killed by another it quite clearly is not enjoying it

[-] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 7 months ago

Watching a bacteria enjoying or not something is pareidolia. It's reacting, for sure, and activating emergency responses.

[-] Scrof@sopuli.xyz 1 points 7 months ago

Aren't you?

[-] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 7 months ago

Yes but with extra steps.

[-] emptiestplace@lemmy.ml 7 points 7 months ago

Would it not be relative? If sentience were to emerge from just 100 neurons, wouldn't their experience of terror be the same as our own? I mean, you could argue that ego is required for true suffering, but I think there is a more fundamental biological aspect that ensures all species capable of moving out of the fire are incentivized to do so.

[-] Ferris@infosec.pub 3 points 7 months ago

how much do you value a couple chemicals floating around and locking into place, circumstantially?

[-] emptiestplace@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago

relevance of inherently subjective valuation?

this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2024

139 points (93.7% liked)

Biodiversity

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A community about the variety of life on Earth at all levels; including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi.

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Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on Earth. It can be used more specifically to refer to all of the species in one region or ecosystem. Biodiversity refers to every living thing, including plants, bacteria, animals, and humans. Scientists have estimated that there are around 8.7 million species of plants and animals in existence. However, only around 1.2 million species have been identified and described so far, most of which are insects. This means that millions of other organisms remain a complete mystery.

Over generations, all of the species that are currently alive today have evolved unique traits that make them distinct from other species. These differences are what scientists use to tell one species from another. Organisms that have evolved to be so different from one another that they can no longer reproduce with each other are considered different species. All organisms that can reproduce with each other fall into one species. Read more...

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