The Cambridge declaration on consciousness

Abstract

This declaration provides a consensus statement on the neurobiological substrates of conscious experience and related behaviors in humans and non-human animals based on recent advances in consciousness research. It acknowledges the presence of homologous brain circuits and neural networks associated with consciousness across species, including non-mammalian animals such as birds and octopuses. The declaration emphasizes the importance of studying non-human animals to understand the evolution of consciousness, as well as the shared affective and cognitive capacities between humans and other creatures. It concludes that the absence of a neocortex does not preclude an organism from experiencing affective states and that non-human animals possess the neurological substrates necessary for conscious experiences. – AI-generated abstract