From Evolution News & Views:
What can we hope to learn about animal minds?
Consciousness (a mind) perceives and acts on information. But there are at least two — more basic and probably unconscious qualities — that distinguish life from non-life, and seem to act by processing information: self-preservation and adaptability.
Life forms constantly try to preserve themselves in a living state — that is, they try to survive. They adapt their methods as needed, whenever possible. A rock falls from a high cliff and breaks; a cat has somehow learned to relax, turn in mid-air, and land on his feet. Or consider Slijper’s goat and Faith the dog, both of whom, born without forelegs, adapted to a lifestyle that is quite unnatural for their species.
But why do life forms struggle so hard to remain alive when the option of simply dying — ceasing to be a life form at all, and rejoining the chemical seas — is readily available, and eventually inevitable?
Naturalist explanations don’t turn out to be much help with any of this. More.
See also:
The tree of intelligence topples, but not where anyone expected
and
What we know about how animals think
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