Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
*How can we know whether another living being is conscious if we can never experience its mind directly?*
Lucia Melloni explains why scientists rely on behavior, anatomy, and neural activity to infer consciousness across babies, mammals, birds, fish, insects, and octopuses—and why uncertainty itself may require a more cautious ethical approach.
0:00 How Scientists Infer Consciousness
2:51 Consciousness in Mammals
6:22 Fish, Insects, and Octopuses
8:18 Why Consciousness May Not Be a Simple Scale
12:03 Why Consciousness Has Ethical Consequences
Lucia Melloni leads the Neural Circuits, Consciousness, and Cognition Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, and holds a position as Research Professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
*More from Lucia Melloni on Closer To Truth:*
* Theories of Consciousness - Closer To Truth - Core Topic: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pI-jElLJw75y9CaSQL2bSgj
* Singer and Melloni’s Large-Scale Synchrony: loc.closertotruth.com/theory/singer-and-melloni-s-large-scale-synchrony
* Cabral-Calderin, Hechavarria, and Melloni’s Neuroethological Approach: loc.closertotruth.com/theory/cabral-calderin-hechavarria-and-melloni-s-neuroethological-approach
* Closer To Truth contributors: closertotruth.com/contributor/lucia-melloni
*Subscribe to Closer To Truth:* youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV
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* Membership (5,000+ videos): closertotruth.com/register
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Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#CloserToTruth #Consciousness #LuciaMelloni #AnimalConsciousness #Neuroscience
*How can we know whether another living being is conscious if we can never experience its mind directly?*
Lucia Melloni explains why scientists rely on behavior, anatomy, and neural activity to infer consciousness across babies, mammals, birds, fish, insects, and octopuses—and why uncertainty itself may require a more cautious ethical approach.
0:00 How Scientists Infer Consciousness
2:51 Consciousness in Mammals
6:22 Fish, Insects, and Octopuses
8:18 Why Consciousness May Not Be a Simple Scale
12:03 Why Consciousness Has Ethical Consequences
Lucia Melloni leads the Neural Circuits, Consciousness, and Cognition Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt, and holds a position as Research Professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
*More from Lucia Melloni on Closer To Truth:*
* Theories of Consciousness - Closer To Truth - Core Topic: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFJr3pJl27pI-jElLJw75y9CaSQL2bSgj
* Singer and Melloni’s Large-Scale Synchrony: loc.closertotruth.com/theory/singer-and-melloni-s-large-scale-synchrony
* Cabral-Calderin, Hechavarria, and Melloni’s Neuroethological Approach: loc.closertotruth.com/theory/cabral-calderin-hechavarria-and-melloni-s-neuroethological-approach
* Closer To Truth contributors: closertotruth.com/contributor/lucia-melloni
*Subscribe to Closer To Truth:* youtube.com/@CloserToTruthTV
*Join the Community:*
* Membership (5,000+ videos): closertotruth.com/register
* Audio Podcast: closertotruth.podbean.com
* Support the Show: closertotruth.com/donate
* Official Merchandise: bonfire.com/store/closertotruth
*Follow Us:*
* Facebook: facebook.com/CloserToTruthTV
* Instagram: instagram.com/closertotruth
* X: https://x.com/CloserToTruth
Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#CloserToTruth #Consciousness #LuciaMelloni #AnimalConsciousness #Neuroscience
