They have not demonstrated that stress hyperthermia = feelings.
Just that stress = hyperthermia in a fish.
It's a result, but it's not the result in the HN title. Which is not in the article BTW.
Just that stress = hyperthermia in a fish.
It's a result, but it's not the result in the HN title. Which is not in the article BTW.
>One particular trait used to identify consciousness, which was previously thought to be absent in fish, is the capacity for stress-induced hyperthermia or “emotional fever”. This is a physical reaction similar to a fever caused by infection, but in this case the trigger is a stressful situation. Basically, the body gets warmer in response to stress.
That would imply that if it's a marker for consciousness it's not a well accepted one. Maybe it's one marker among many, but certainly not enough to support the HN title "Fish have feeling".
And simply on a logical level I'm not seeing the connection between stress causing heat, and consciousness.
Animals obviously can get stressed, and animals obviously can have a fever. I'm not seeing why consciousness is necessary to link the two.