When and why did we become sentient?

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When and why did we become sentient?
Tweet Topic Started: Sep 21 2017, 01:12 AM (290 Views)
+ Pelador	Sep 21 2017, 01:12 AM Post #1
Crazy Awesome Legend Posts: 25,663 Group: Legend Member #4,634 Joined: December 12, 2009 Gender Not Specified Country None Favourite Anime HunterxHunter What Browser do you use? Firefox Favourite Manga Dragonball	When and why did humans become sentient? What was it that made us able to look inward on ourselves? When did we start thinking about the bigger picture? Of all the species that has ever lived, humans are the only ones who can comprehend the world around us. Even chimpanzees, the second most intelligent animal can't grasp reality. I like to think it came with speech. When we could talk to each other we could share thoughts and feelings. This led to a collective knowledge base that we could expand upon over generations. Also with language we were able to start thinking to ourselves. I don't believe other animals can do this. I think they just exist without any proper thoughts. Perhaps their minds work more simply than ours and they can only think in memories and emotions? I'm interested in people's thoughts on this.
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~~Doggo Champion 2k17~~	Sep 21 2017, 01:31 PM Post #2
Posts: 7,931 Group: GTFO Member #6,380 Joined: June 20, 2011 Country United States Favourite Anime here comes What Browser do you use? o shit waddup! Favourite Manga dat boi	Sentient literally means "the ability to feel or perceive things." Going by the textbook definition of the word, almost every life-form on this planet is sentient. I'm assuming you're referring to a human's ability to feel things like compassion, a conscience, somewhat of a shared morality, etc. and we're still studying whether or not other animals share these qualities with us. It's difficult to discern what another species may be thinking or feeling when we can't connect with them on an interspecies level. Morality, compassion, and love have all been extensively studied in other species. There are certain animals that are monogamous like humans, others that will not kill their own kind, some who look after young that aren't their own. We're more like other animals than you may think. Obviously other species can't write or formulate ideas in the same manner that humans can, but they all have their own methods of communication. I admire the simplicity of other lifeforms. I wish we weren't so hung up on this "reality" of politics, poverty, war, religion, and general stupidity.



ll DragonBallZ Fan ll	Oct 8 2017, 11:52 PM Post #3
Posts: 26 Group: Member Member #14,091 Joined: October 7, 2017 Gender Male Country United States	As Doggo pointed out, sentient generally has a much broader application than the term "consciousness", which is what I believe Pelador is referring to. Many other animal species would be considered sentient as they have nervous systems of various complexity that is interacting with the world. Our species has an incredibly complex nervous system and large brains in ratio to body size, with our Frontal Lobes more highly developed than in any other animal species. Many/most scientists (more specifically, Neuroscientists, Psychologists, Biologists, ect.) believe that the attribute of higher order sentience or consciousness can be attributed to this fact although it is not at all clear how this has been achieved or to what level other animals may have this characteristic. Thus, sentience can be thought of as on a continuum with Humans on one end all the way to creatures with "primitive" nervous systems. What are thoughts about consciousness in Humans and Non-Human animals or elsewhere?
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