From Mark Costello, Auckland, New Zealand
Your article on consciousness quotes a scientist who dismisses emotional responses in amphibians and fish because they don't show elevated body temperature and heart rate. But they are cold-blooded, so this is not a suitable measure. In any case, at least fish show the same adrenalin-cortisol response as mammals, so they can experience stress, fear and excitement. They also have several “signs of consciousness”: a need for sleep, sensitivity to anaesthetics, focused attention, and learning. There is a convenient history in science of assuming “lesser life forms” don't feel stress and fear.
I wonder whether a mobile lifestyle is associated with consciousness? It increases opportunities for finding patchy food, more complex social interactions and parallel development of visual, hearing, smell and other senses; all these need greater cognition and mind maps of the environment, including other animals.
