From Frank Siegrist
Anthony Castaldo takes issue with the idea that consciousness should be linked to language (Letter, 12 September). He brings up the example of his dog consciously reasoning that it should “ask” to be let out (to avoid making a mess on the carpet and angering its master, I suppose).
I agree that dogs surely possess consciousness. But here the dog is actually communicating, albeit non-verbally. It remains an open question for me whether only social animals like dogs and humans benefit from being conscious. Are naturally lonesome creatures like frogs and turtles conscious too? Maybe consciousness is really just a side effect of communication, even if it appeared long before our species and our verbal language.
Granby, Quebec, Canada
