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Episode 162, Animal Consciousness with Peter Godfrey-Smith

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast·Jack Symes | Andrew Horton, Oliver Marley, Rose de Castellane, Gregory Mill·6 August 2026·46 min

About this episode

Hey everyone, Jack here with another special episode – my recent conversation with Peter Godfrey-Smith, Professor in the School of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Sydney. Peter is best known for his bestselling book Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness – a landmark work on animal intelligence and the philosophy of mind. In this interview, we explore the world of animal consciousness: octopus minds, the evolution of sentience, panpsychism, and the moral tension of loving animals while making a case for eating them. It gets a little heated towards the end of the discussion on veganism, but besides that I think it's a brilliant conversation. The full episode is also on YouTube; I hope you enjoy the show! Links Peter's Website Other Minds (Peter's best-seller) Philosophers on Consciousness (Jack's book)