2026/04/15 by Heather Browning · 1 voice · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Psychology · Veterinary · #Affect (linguistics) #Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies #Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior #Animal and Plant Science Education #Animal species #Consciousness #Construct (python library) #Dimension (graph theory) #Distribution (mathematics)
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10539-026-10019-7
published in Biology & Philosophy 41(2) (Springer Science+Business Media)
openalex publication_date 2026/04/15 · openalex created_date 2026/04/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract The study of animal consciousness typically focuses on the distribution question: i.e., which animal taxa are conscious. However, recent work has instead suggested a dimensional approach to build up ‘consciousness profiles’ for different species; giving us the what it is like to be that animal. Here I apply a similar approach to understanding animal affect, the dimension most relevant to welfare. Different animals will have varied sets of affects, that they may experience to differing degrees. I introduce a framework for mapping out the affective ranges and intensities of different animals, using clusters of physiological and behavioural markers to construct affect profiles for each species or taxa. These profiles could help inform research on the evolution, function, and distribution of animal consciousness and affect, as well as identify the interests and welfare risks for different species.