The hidden world of animal consciousness - with David Peña-Guzmán

Do animals dream? Join David Peña-Guzmán as he explores behavioural and neuroscientific research on animal sleep with philosophical theories of dreaming. Watch the Q&A here: David’s latest book ’When animals dream: the hidden world of animal consciousness’ is available now: Subscribe for regular science videos: Are humans the only dreamers on Earth? Dreams provide an invaluable window into the cognitive and emotional lives of nonhuman animals, giving us access to a seemingly inaccessible realm of human experience. From suggestions that many animals run ’reality simulations’ while asleep to the profound implications for contemporary debates about animal cognition, ethics, and rights. In this talk, discover a convincing case for animals as conscious beings and examine the thorny scientific, philosophical and ethical questions it raises. This livestream was recorded on 28 July 2022. David Peña-Guzmán received his PhD in Philosophy from Emory University in 2015. His dissertation, ’The rational turn in continental philosophy: Bachelard, Canguilhem, Foucault’, is an interrogation of the school of historical epistemology that appeared in France sometime between the 1920s and the 1950s. David works on historical epistemology, animal studies, phenomenology, feminist theory, bioethics, and critical social theory. His work has appeared in journals such as ’Foucault Studies’, ’The Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy’, and ’Hypatia’. Before joining the faculty at San Francisco State University in 2017, Dr Peña-Guzmán was a postdoc at the Centre for Evolutionary Ecology and Ethical Conservation (CEEEC) in Ontario, Canada and at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in Baltimore, MD. -- A very special thank you to our Patreon supporters who help make these videos happen, especially: Andy Carpenter, William Hudson, Richard Hawkins, Thomas Gønge, Don McLaughlin, Jonathan Sturm, Microslav Jarábek, Michael Rops, Supalak Foong, efkinel lo, Martin Paull, Ben Wynne-Simmons, Ivo Danihelka, Paulina Barren, Kevin Winoto, Jonathan Killin, Taylor Hornby, Rasiel Suarez, Stephan Giersche, William Billy Robillard, Scott Edwardsen, Jeffrey Schweitzer, Frances Dunne, , Tim Karr, Adam Leos, Alan Latteri, Matt Townsend, John C. Vesey, Andrew McGhee, Robert Reinecke, Paul Brown, Lasse T Stendan, David Schick, Joe Godenzi, Dave Ostler, Osian Gwyn Williams, David Lindo, Roger Baker, Greg Nagel, Rebecca Pan, Edward Unthank. -- The Ri is on Patreon: and Twitter: and Facebook: and TikTok: @ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: Our editorial policy: Subscribe for the latest science videos: Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won’t cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.