In an essay for @IAI_TV, @pgodfreysmith, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the @Sydney_Uni, examines evidence from other animals suggesting that consciousness is linked to large-scale electrical oscillations moving across living cell membranes. "Nervous system oscillations of this kind are all over the animal kingdom. Brain rhythms that are similar to ours are found in bees, flies and octopuses. In a simple form, they are even found in jellyfish-like animals (which have no brain, but do have a nervous system). This can be taken to support the view that oscillating is something that nervous systems just do, easily or inevitably, without playing much of a role. And how could oscillations have a role in consciousness if they are found in animals, like jellyfish, that are probably not conscious at all?" The key observation is that nervous systems separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution exhibit similar rhythmic electrical dynamics linked to awareness and behavior. Consciousness likely exists on a spectrum across living organisms. It's not uniquely human but is expressed differently across bodies and rooted in shared biological processes. 📃Read the full piece here: iai.tv/articles/studies-on-a… #Consciousness #AnimalCognition #Bioethics #Intelligence #PhilosophyOfMind #AnimalEthics