Do animals dream? And what would proof of their dreams tell us about their consciousness?

If you have pets, the answer may seem obvious. Most of us have seen dogs running in their sleep or cats meowing during a nap. But scientifically proving that non-human animals dream isn’t so simple.

“The minds of other animals are already weird enough by virtue of being alien, but their dreams are even more alien because dreams are already bizarre.”

In his new book, When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness (Princeton University Press, 2022), philosopher David M. Peña-Guzmán of San Francisco State University argues the science shows that animals really do dream, and that those dreams are evidence of consciousness.

In a new episode of the University of Chicago’s “Big Brains” podcast, Peña-Guzmán talks about the science of animal consciousness. Listen below or read the transcript here.

Source: University of Chicago