Can an animal be self aware? If so do they have a soul?

Of course we don’t even know if a soul exists, but if it did, would you think they can survive life after death? Some animals don’t even have a personality/ego. This makes me wonder if animals don’t even exist after death. What are your views on different animal consciousness? Are they conscious, or just follow complex patterns?

[edit on 18-2-2010 by Maddogkull]

We are animals. And no a soul is simply superstition and does not exist. The closest relative to us are other primates..chimpanzees,bonobo's,gorrilas etc and they are very much conscious and intrigued by the world around them. Maybe not as much as us but still enough to distinguish themselves from the majority of animals. I can't find the video but there was a chimpanzee sitting by a river and running his hand through the current...you just have to look into his eyes to see ourselves both past and present in awe at such a simple thing.


[edit on 18-2-2010 by Solomons]

Its clear that animals are very self aware and aware of much much more than that. Cant really say if they have a soul or some sort of conscience life after death. Probably.

Well self aware of not wouldn't all living thing's go through the same proces after death, i mean we are animal's ourself aren't we, so who is to say that another animal afte death be any different.

reply to post by Maddogkull


Not all people have a soul. Some people that appear and act normal are just masquerading as humans. I don't know what they are but they aren't human. And self awarness isn't the criteria for having a soul.

Dogs have souls

I would say my dog shows sign of a guilty conscious when I walk in the door, and he is scared to make eye contact...lookin' all moe pee.
Just cause he just raided the litter box of all the cat turds.

The smiles they give when I come home, or when momma lets him on the bed.

This shows emotion too.

I remember going to a philosophical conference in which a guy was talking about the nature of animals and showing signs of being self-aware. The one instance in which he used the example of a dog was that a dog basically "making business" on a fire hydrant or perhaps a tree, they would then go back to see if they had been there before or rather if it was marked with their scent.

He would also go on to use another example of a parrot (or some sort of bird ) in which a bib was placed on it. As it stood in front of the mirror the bird looked at "itself" in the mirror then down at the bib then back again. It wasn't to long before the bird reached down with it's beak and took the bib off.

This conference was I believe either a semester or two semesters ago ( trying to remember as all my philosophy conferences are starting to blur together now ). Either way animals are definitely self-aware of themselves, just shown in different instances.

P.S. I don't believe I have notes on that conference, but I can search for them sometime tonight if needed.

I would have to hear and understand your definition of the word soul... What is that?

I agree with others who say that we are also animals.

I look at this dog and it seems a silly question to ask if he has a soul. Can't you see it?

I've had animals all my life, well dogs and cats. They are just as self aware as we are. They can't speak our languages but they can "speak". I'd like to think that we ALL have souls, Trees, birds etc. But, while we are still alive it is impossible to know for sure.

I'd be tempted to say "Yes" and "Yes"

Looking around me here I'd say dog, cat, bird, squirrel, cow, all self aware and have a soul.

But, if I go a little deeper - to the worm and grub squirming around under the lawn. I'd have to say...hmmmmmm..... I don't know.

Maybe there has to be a level of intelligence there? But, if so, what is the cut-off point?

I think anything that has life has "something" about it that can't been seen or touched. Some extra element of its "self". I guess that could be called a soul. In that case, it would include trees, grub worms, plants, etc. It's been proven that plants respond to music. Does that indicate self-awareness? I don't know.

It's nice and interesting to think of these questions, but we don't even know if WE have "souls". How can we know if they do?

Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Yes some are, no some aren't. Also souls aren't real.

Such anthropomorphic principles are clearly opened to the opinions of the people verses any evidence.

I wonder if dogs question whether or not humans have self awareness and souls...I mean, clearly they are not aware enough to keep the environment from being destroyed while they make their caves and such, and clearly they are not overly aware when they are entertained by looking mesmerized at a flickering light in a box for hours on end

[edit on 18-2-2010 by SaturnFX]

Originally posted by Incendia vox
Also souls aren't real.

Neither is black holes, string theory, ghosts, quarks, UFOs, earthsized planets in different star systems, etc etc etc.

wait...arent real or not proven are two different things. Since I do not have the answer to these things, I will simply say they are not proven...it would be really dumb and religious of me to catagorically state something as being not real when there is a chance they could be.

now, great tasting diet food...that is clearly not real.

As others stated, we are animals. So IF we have souls, than other animals should also. I have had animals lie to me to get what they want, be angry with me when I am gone to long or once, when I was laughing at my dear cat, she came in from the other room, hopped up on the bed and called me a dog f*kker (literal translation of Yawwwelll!) and jumped off again in a huff. And of course the amazing amount of love and affection animals both give and desire.

To add something new, there are many reports of animals ghosts. Does this not argue for a presence of a soul?

Something I should have added in my post to balance the argument out a little bit, when I had a dog at least four years ago he would also bark when he saw himself in the mirror. It's as if he didn't see himself, but rather another dog that was really close.

Another thing he would do is tilt his head to the side like a normal person when pondering on something. He normally did this when my dad came on over the intercom system, it was an amusing sight to behold and it led me to wonder if he knew who that was.

As with the bird and the mirror, many people like to ascribe things to animals that can not be proven. The bird untied the apron, was it because it saw it in the mirror? I doubt it. Most birds will peck a the image of themselves in a mirror thinking it to be another(different) bird. I heard someone tell a story about how smart a sparrow was because it untied a knot in a string. I asked her if she ever saw the bird tie a knot in a string. Answer was no of course.
The only way to be certain that an animal is self-aware would be to ask it, and have it answer the question. I suppose we will have to wait a while for that one, discounting psychic dog/horse whisperers.

I'd say that all living creatures have a soul, however, i would say that not all animals are self aware, i would suggest that they're purpose is to become self aware beore they can evolve further. this can be assisted in means such as pets and domestication...

Just my opinion from things i've read and things i have began to relate too

reply to post by Maddogkull


I realize this will be met with skepticism by some. I'm a little skeptical myself.

I read this a while ago from Edgar Cayce. He begins to talk about animals/souls at the beginning of the third paragraph. Read this and draw your own conclusions. It's very interesting to me the way he explains it.

knol.google.com...#

Hope that helps.

By the way, very meaningful thread. I enjoy threads like these in particular. Although there are many great threads here at ATS, to me threads like this are what it's all about. S&F.

Edit add:

This one explains it even better.
www.near-death.com...

~ Zeus



[edit on 18-2-2010 by Zeus2573]

Yes they have souls, and are self aware! The arrogance of mankind, manipulating science and even which hypothesis's they attempt to prove, based on religious dogmas is unbeleivable, and its not good science.

Good science would attempt to answer these questions by fitting it all into the natural world including that we are animals.

Wolf spiders display altruism when they are observed assisting and helping youngsters that are not from their own families.

There are many many examples online.

Connect with nature. Go out and meditate, attempt to commucnicate telepathically. Its eye opening, especially when you connect to a trapped insect and assist it leaving safely on its own from your home.

Nature is on a higher vibration than we are.

Many of our teachers and even watchers incarnate within.



[edit on 18-2-2010 by Unity_99]