Death Awareness in Non-Human Minds: A Philosophical Inquiry

Edited by Kseniya Dybatch

Abstract

Long thought to be exclusively a human concern, the idea of death may also be present in non-human animals, according to new research in comparative thanatology. This essay challenges anthropocentric presumptions that discount non-human awareness of life's finality by examining the cognitive and philosophical aspects of animal death recognition. By looking at viewpoints such as Susana Monso's minimum concept of death theory and Kristin Andrews' work on animal sentience, this essay makes the case that animals have a knowledge of death by looking at academic viewpoints. Through scientific and philosophical research, counter arguments are addressed and disproved, such as Descartes' rejection of animal cognition and assertions that death awareness is essentially instinctive rather than cerebral. The topic of animal grieving is also covered, with an emphasis on determining if observable behaviours of mourning indicate a depth of feeling or are purely physiological reactions. This work attempts to improve our comprehension of mortality across species and add to the larger conversation on animal awareness by combining viewpoints from philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science.