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Originally Posted by David Bailey  I think it is important to realise that outside of scientific circles, these things are seen somewhat differently. I got something similar when our neighbour told us about how our cat knew when we were returning - to her it was just a commonplace, to me (as the skeptic that I then was) it was a scientific impossibility!
Normal people react even more strongly to some of the issues related to consciousness that get debated. For example, there was a time when Nicholas Humphrey would argue that most if not all animals had no consciousness and merely operated as robots! Most people (especially pet owners) would be just amazed by such a suggestion. Likewise concepts like epiphenomenalism would draw blank stares!
David |
also, some people are just more tuned-in to animals. I've never been, but after looking into this research I've found this to be true. So, it's not surprising that some folks are more likely to notice and report behaviors like this... dog people look at the world a little differently.