Descartes called non-human animals “beast machines”: fleshy beings incapable of self-reflection, and therefore, consciousness. However, Anil Seth argues that it is instead the fact that we are flesh-and-blood that stimulates consciousness in the first place. Our emotions and moods are rooted in our brain’s drive to keep us alive. We experience these emotions in relation to our world; we fear something will hurt us, for example. It is these emotions produced by our fleshy bodies that he believes is the root of consciousness. Read full article here
