Sentience

The exploration of consciousness unfolds through a quest to understand its evolutionary history, highlighting the significance of feelings in defining self-awareness. Nicholas Humphrey delves into groundbreaking discoveries, such as blindsight in monkeys and insights into social intelligence, while tackling the "hard problem" of phenomenal consciousness. He argues that this complex experience is a recent evolutionary advancement, raising provocative questions about sentience in nonhuman animals and the broader implications for understanding consciousness across species.