Animals are sentient

Alright, I'm glad we can agree on our definition of sentience. Rebuttals: "Koko learned sign language from a tutor. If you tried to teach it to another animal, it would fail". This is true to some extent. If you tried teaching sign language to a dolphin it just couldn't do it. Despite the fact that they are intelligent animals, dolphins just can't do it. If I can once again use the analogy of a computer. If you use a computer you can very quickly store all of the words or symbols required for languages. In fact, it could do it much faster and better then a gorilla or even a human could. But this does not mean the computer is self aware. Several incredibly advanced chatbots have been created that can almost pass as human. But they are not self aware, when you get down to it they are simply algorithms that choose words based off of the input given. It is the same with a gorilla it learned patterns over time but it is not consciously aware of what those symbols mean. "But animals are not used to learning sign language, they are used to hunting for survival. It is not common to go to the zoo and see an ape that can juggle, or a gorilla that can use sign language, or a chimp that can write words, because it isn't natural for the animal itself.". This is true, gorilla's do not naturally learn sign language. However, the same can be said for humans. A child raised without ever hearing language will make sounds in an attempt to speak. It is a part of human nature to speak. However, it is not natural for us to read and write. We invented it but it is not part of our nature. Essentially it is the same between humans and Koko. We are given an object, finding food, and we achieve it by getting the food our selves, asking for it using speech or writing to someone to ask them to do it for us. Just like the gorilla Koko. Koko learned to speak sign language even though it isn't part of its nature, this does not mean Koko is sentient. All it means is that Koko is intelligent enough to store the level of information required, but not intelligent enough to be self-aware. Mirror/Mark Test [1] Alright, so there is certainly some merit to the mirror test. On the other hand, there has been research to suggest that the mirror test provides false negatives. Using the mark test on human children has shown that they repeatedly fail it up until 15 -18 months. Even humans at a certain age are not self-aware. We later achieve it, but has babies we are basically animals and we rely on instinct and other humans to keep us alive. Self-recognition vs. Self-Awareness [2] There has also been research to suggest that there is a significant difference between self-recognition and self-awareness. The two are certainly linked. A self-aware human is almost always capable of self-recognition (with the exception of those who's sensory organs have been damaged in such a way that they are incapable of using them). However, a creature capable of self-recognition isn't necessarily capable of self-awareness. Using the mirror test an animal can recognize itself in the mirror, so it has achieved self-recognition. However, this does not mean it is self-aware. Using the computer as an example once again, a computer could recognize a picture of itself (assuming it has some sort of distinguishing feature and it has an image of what it looks like), but the computer does not actually aware. It compares the image it is given with the image that it is told it looks like and decides whether or not they are the same thing. As I said earlier babies repeatedly fail the mirror test up until a certain point in their development. But once they can recognize themselves in a mirror there is no evidence to suggest that they are actually conscious. At a young age humans are essentially animals. The mirror test can be an indicator of self-recognition, however it is rarely a indicator of self-awareness. The Brain [3] So the human brain isn't all though different from most animals. It is slightly, some parts are larger, smaller or more complex then animals. However, not by much. The main difference between the human brain and animal brains is the size ratio. The human brain has one of the largest brain to body mass ratio. There are of coarse animals with a higher ratio, but their brains are too small to support the kind of intelligence humans have. Because of this we are much more intelligent then all of the other animals on the planet. While many of the indicators of self-awareness have been achieved by animals (language, tools, social structures) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] http://psycnet.apa.org...? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [3] http://en.wikipedia.org... http://realtruth.org...