What's it like to be a bat? Scientists develop new solution to the puzzle of animal minds

"We cannot directly access their experience. We can only infer it. For decades, animal welfare science has grappled with this challenge. But in a recent paper published in the journal Frontiers in Animal Science, we've developed a framework called the 'teleonome' that provides a way forward - not by transcending the limits Nagel identified, but by understanding each species on its own evolutionary terms."

"Currently, when we assess animal welfare, we're like mechanics checking individual car parts without understanding how the engine works. Physiologists measure stress hormones. Behaviourists count how often animals move or vocalise. And veterinarians check for disease. Each specialist produces valuable data. But what's missing is a way to evaluate these data from the animals' lived experience."

"A chicken in a cage might produce eggs efficiently. But she might be suffering chronic frustration because she cannot scratch, bathe in dust, flap her wings, explore and nest - behaviours the cage makes impossible."

Thomas Nagel's philosophical question about accessing subjective animal experience remains relevant to modern animal welfare decisions. Current assessment methods measure stress hormones, behavior counts, and disease presence separately, missing the integrated picture of lived experience. A horse with normal cortisol and no behavioral abnormalities may suffer from social separation. A caged chicken producing eggs efficiently may experience chronic frustration from inability to perform natural behaviors. The teleonome framework addresses this limitation by evaluating animals through their evolutionary context and integrated biological systems, providing a more comprehensive understanding of welfare beyond isolated physiological indicators.

Read at The Conversation