Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Descartes famously argued that animals were mere machines, without thought or consciousness. Few would now share this view. But if other animals have conscious lives, what are they like, how do they differ from ours, and how would we ever know anything about them? In this lecture, Tim Crane addresses this question by looking at the kinds of thoughts we might share with animals, and looking at philosophical and empirical arguments for how our thoughts might differ from theirs.
This talk was given by professor Tim Crane as part of his inaugural lecture as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge back in 2010.
#philosophy #philosophyofmind #epistemology #psychology #intentionality #mind #language
Descartes famously argued that animals were mere machines, without thought or consciousness. Few would now share this view. But if other animals have conscious lives, what are they like, how do they differ from ours, and how would we ever know anything about them? In this lecture, Tim Crane addresses this question by looking at the kinds of thoughts we might share with animals, and looking at philosophical and empirical arguments for how our thoughts might differ from theirs.
This talk was given by professor Tim Crane as part of his inaugural lecture as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge back in 2010.
#philosophy #philosophyofmind #epistemology #psychology #intentionality #mind #language
