[QuarianRex]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
I think there is a line somewhere, albeit a very fuzzy one. It all comes down to the complexity of the brain. Chimps, elephants, dolphins, dogs, cats... these animals and others have a lot more 'human' qualities than are generally ascribed to them. For example, I think some animals definitely have a sense of humour and capacity for human-like emotion. I also thnk that complexity isn't enough- brain complexity is only potential intelligence/ free-will/ sentience/ self awareness/ whatever we're calling it. You need to fill that complexity with experience and memory for it to become self aware. For that reason I don't think all dogs are necessarily sentient- just the ones which have had sufficient mental stimulation and interaction to become self-aware. Likewise a new-born baby is not a sentient creature- it's just a potentially sentient one. (That doesn't mean I value babies any less than anyone else does, though.) At some point in their development they cross the barrier and become self-aware.

Here's an interesting note on self-awareness. Self-awareness seems to be tied to longevity. People who are mentally challenged tend to score very low on scales of self-awareness. This seems to be tied to a lack of fourth and fifth order dendritic arborization (dendrite branches growing on branches, growing on branches, growing on branches, etc.). The interesting correlate here is that they tend to have shortened lifespans, typically dying in their late forties or fifties.

This is interestingly mirrored in the case of feral children (those raised by animals). Ferals tend to show a similar deficiency in self-awareness and lack of fourth and fifth order dendrite growth, even after extensive cultural assimilation and education. And guess what? Ferals tend to die in their forties and fifties as well.

Interesting is it not?