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Overthink

Animal Consciousness

Overthink

Ellie Anderson, Ph.D. and David Peña-Guzmán, Ph.D.

Philosophy, Society & Culture, Education

4.7549 Ratings

🗓️ 24 May 2022

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From snoozing puppies kicking their legs to controversial octopi who change colors while asleep, nonhuman dreaming fascinates us. Science says that sleeping animals experience “reality simulations,” rich dreamscapes which they navigate as conscious agents. Inspired by David’s book When Animals Dream (fresh off the press!), this episode kicks off a 3-part series tracing his thrilling investigation into the nature and philosophical implications of animal dreaming. Episode 52 introduces David’s argument that animals’ capacity to dream reveals the need to radically rethink animals as conscious beings with complex inner lives.

Works Discussed:

David Peña-Guzmán, When Animals Dream
Nature
(S38 E1), PBS TV
Elizabeth Preston, "Was Heidi the Octopus Really Dreaming?"
William Lauder Lindsay, Mind in the Lower Animals in Health and Disease
Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams
Evan Thompson, Waking, Dreaming, Being
Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception
Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man
Peter Godfrey-Smith, Other Minds
Ratatouille (2007)

Support the show

Substack | overthinkpod.substack.com
Website | overthinkpodcast.com
Instagram & Twitter | @overthink_pod
Email | dearoverthink@gmail.com
YouTube | Overthink podcast

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, I'm David Pena Guzman.

0:08.6

And I'm Ellie Anderson.

0:10.2

Welcome to Overthink.

0:12.0

The podcast were two friends, who are also professors, put philosophy in dialogue with the everyday.

0:18.6

Because big ideas are within everyone's reach.

0:30.0

Oh my God, David, today is such a special day.

0:34.6

This is the week that your book comes out, and today is the day when we talk about it.

0:43.1

All the anxiety. I don't think I've ever heard that noise. Yes, it's anxiety oozing out of every pore of my body.

0:50.2

I've heard a lot of David's responses, but that's like a first, that's a new react.

0:55.4

No, I'm telling you, Ellie, you do not know how anxious and self-conscious I am about this book.

1:02.3

I mean, I stand by what I wrote and I will defend it maybe to the death.

1:07.4

But writing a book really was a very humbling experience for me.

1:12.6

Well, I can tell you it's great.

1:14.2

You don't need to be anxious about it.

1:15.9

I mean, I don't know what Twitter is going to think.

1:17.7

Maybe you do.

1:18.5

But don't.

1:19.7

In terms of the contents, I am loving it.

1:23.0

Listeners, I'm not just saying this because David is my friend and co-host.

1:26.5

And so I have a vested interest

1:28.7

in the success of this book, both from a professional and a personal perspective. No, truly,

1:34.4

I am loving reading it. The graphics are all these cute little illustrations that are so sweet.

...

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