Prominent scientists sign declaration that animals have conscious awareness, just like us

[cpwm17]

10. Most people know that animals are conscious

I've seen a few right-wing crazies that disagree, but they are the exception.

Consciousness is fundamental to how we operate. It has to have taken many millions of years for our consciousness to evolve.

Without consciousness we wouldn't have feelings such as pleasure and emotions. Feelings are the driving force without which we couldn't get up in the morning, think, operate a computer, learn, or do anything whatsoever. With no feelings I believe we would be in a state similar to a coma. The same is true for other animals.

We are really no different than this rat, which is driven by his feelings (pleasure) that are stimulated by the scientists.

Normally the feelings are stimulated by the brain itself, and the process is far more subtle. We are almost not aware of many of the subtle feelings that drive us through the day, but we couldn't operate without them.