Where Is It Like to Be an Octopus?

Octopuses may experience a unique form of consciousness that diverges from human understanding. Their nervous system, comprising over 500 million neurons, is decentralized, allowing each arm to operate independently. Remarkably, severed arms continue to display behaviors akin to those of the intact animal, suggesting an autonomous consciousness. This hints at the concept of "multiple consciousness," where both the octopus and its arms possess distinct experiences. Thus, the octopus consciousness may encompass not just the whole being but also individual arms—an intriguing notion in the study of sentience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The cognitive capacities and behavioural repertoire of octopuses have led to speculation that these animals may possess consciousness. However, the nervous system of octopuses is radically different from those typically associated with conscious experience: rather than being centralised and profoundly integrated, the octopus nervous system is distributed into components with considerable functional autonomy from each other. Of particular note is the arm nervous system: when severed, octopus arms still exhibit behaviours that are nearly identical to those exhibited when the animal is intact. Given these factors, there is reason to speculate that if octopuses do possess consciousness, it may be of a form highly dissimilar to familiar models. In particular, it may be that the octopus arm is capable of supporting an idiosyncratic field of consciousness. As such, in addition to the likelihood that there is something it is like to be an octopus, there may also be something it is like to be an octopus arm. This manuscript explores this possibility.