{"id":15904,"date":"2016-10-06T18:53:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T18:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/?p=15904"},"modified":"2023-03-06T12:09:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T12:09:41","slug":"are-bacteria-conscious-beings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2023.biowars.com\/blog\/are-bacteria-conscious-beings\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Bacteria Conscious Beings?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Throughout mankind\u2019s history, the question of whether or not we as human beings are the only sentient lifeforms that exist on Earth has plagued the minds of both scientists and academics. Evidence of this can be found as far back as the 17th<\/sup> century, when French philosopher Rene Descartes said of animal life:<\/p>\n

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Animals are like robots: they cannot reason or feel pain.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nevertheless, in the last few decades, advances in science have given us an even broader\u2014and more microscopic\u2014view of life below homo sapiens. And it\u2019s only served to further the question: does consciousness, by definition, exist in other forms of life besides humans?<\/p>\n

Though answering this question definitively wouldn\u2019t necessarily be a job for amateur scientists and philosophers like ourselves, one thing we do know is that bacteria<\/a> are incredibly versatile forms of life that do exhibit some of the top indicators for sentience. So while the theory is not something that can be proven in this article, we can definitely make a case for looking at the idea a little bit further.<\/p>\n

\"Biowars<\/p>\n

What is Consciousness?<\/h2>\n

To better understand what consciousness is, let\u2019s first take a look at how the word is defined on dictionary.com, which explains consciousness as:<\/p>\n

the\u00a0state\u00a0of\u00a0being\u00a0conscious;\u00a0awareness\u00a0of\u00a0one’s\u00a0own\u00a0existence, sensations,\u00a0thoughts,\u00a0surroundings,\u00a0etc.<\/p>\n

When this definition is applied to living things, a new position begins to emerge, especially when you take into account this technical paper from Dr. Bhakti Niskama Shanta, who wrote an article on the subject issued by Communicative & Integrative Biology<\/a><\/em>, saying:<\/p>\n

Following a reductionist approach, there is a general consensus among biologists that the body of an animal is being held up by muscles, bones, tendons, and so on. However, despite the presence of these anatomical parts, without consciousness, the body will collapse on the ground.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Hence, consciousness is a force within the body and only when it is conscious it will stand up and perform its usual activities. The moment consciousness leaves, the body collapses.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In relation to bacteria, who don\u2019t have the muscles, bones and tendons being described by Dr. Shanta, we then have to look even further at what consciousness really is\u2014and where it stems from.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Gabriel Shaoolian<\/a>, the creator of the Biowars digital comic<\/a><\/em> and former NYU student in endocrinology, the separation between what is conscious or not becomes much more apparent.<\/p>\n

Beyond having a central nervous system, which many scientists recognize as a sensory necessity that allows living things to experience touch, pain and the emotions associated with perception, many are saying that without real evidence along these lines being discovered, there\u2019s also no evidence of consciousness.<\/p>\n

Touching on this subject, Mr. Shaoolian says of bacterial consciousness:<\/p>\n

Cells have DNA, which controls them and everything they do. You could say [DNA] serves as the brain and nervous system\u2026where the DNA controls the bacteria\u2019s behavior.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

But are bacteria conscious? Are they really aware of what\u2019s going on? In some ways they are responsive\u2026but can they think? Do they get sad? Do they get happy? We haven\u2019t found any proof of that yet. It doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t\u2014we just haven\u2019t found proof of it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While thought and emotion may not be proven, there are still many points in the defining characteristics of life that have been demonstrated by scientists. So let\u2019s explore what these are and how bacteria<\/a> fit into the equation.<\/p>\n

\"Biowars<\/p>\n

Bacteria and Consciousness<\/h2>\n

Setting the nervous system aside for a moment, since bacteria lack the structure altogether, several other biological characteristics scientists look for in living things (including bacteria) are:<\/p>\n