The idea that animals have consciousness arose from studies of their behavior. However, behavioral studies are insufficient for assessing the existence of consciousness in animals. Following Gutfreund [2017], I am of the opinion that the answer to the question of consciousness in animals requires an understanding of the neural mechanisms of consciousness. The question here is that of whether it is possible to understand these mechanisms. There is a wide range of views on this question – from cartesian dualism, which denies the existence of any kind of neural mechanism for consciousness, to the diametrically opposite view, that consciousness is a cognitive function which can therefore theoretically be understood. I adhere to this latter point of view. However, as argued in this article, progress in studies of the mechanisms of cognitive functions, including consciousness, requires a paradigm shift in neurobiology from a purely connectionist approach towards cell biology.
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Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp. 152–162, March–April, 2018.
In memory of my teachers Mark Victorovich Kirzon, Mikhail Georgievich Udel’nov, Aleksand Nikolaevich Kabanov, and Israel Moiseevich Gelfand.
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Arshavsky, Y.I. Can Consciousness in Animals Be Assessed on the Basis of Their Behavior?. Neurosci Behav Physi 49, 686–693 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-019-00788-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-019-00788-y