The French philosopher René Descartes, whose views on animals were highly influential, argued that these creatures acted purely by reflex — they had no intellectual capabilities. But there has been a Copernican revolution since then: We now know that sophisticated minds are all around us in the animal queendom — not just in close relatives of humans such as chimps and apes, but also in “aliens from inner space” such as the octopus.
The consciousness of bees
Experiments indicate that bees have surprisingly rich inner worlds
Perspective by Lars Chittka
July 29, 2022 at 10:13 a.m. EDT