Meertens, N. (2024). Hedonic valence at the core of consciousness: A review of "A philosophy for the science of animal consciousness" by Walter Veit. Philosophy and the Mind Sciences, 5. doi: 10.33735/phimisci.2024.11472
A book review of “A philosophy for the science of animal consciousness” by Walter Veit Routledge, 2023, 162 pages, ISBN 9781032343617.
The possibility of consciousness in nonhuman animals has long been debated.The search for the beginnings of consciousness in nature has resulted in many po-sitions. These have ranged from attributing it to all matter (panpsychism), all life(biopsychism), or denying its existence altogether (eliminativism), with myriad per-spectives in between. Griffin (1976) the founder of the field of cognitive ethology,urged taking the mental lives of animals seriously. Darwin had revolutionised howwe see life, leading us away from a notion of human uniqueness, however, Griffinnoted that this revolution has not yet extended into the realm of consciousness,which far too often is still seen as specifically human. Walter Veit’s book aims toanswer this call.
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