We feel, therefore we are. Conscious sensations ground our sense of self. They are crucial to our idea of ourselves as psychic beings: present, existent, and mattering. But is it only humans who feel this way? Do other animals? Will future machines? Weaving together intellectual adventure and cutting-edge science, Nicholas Humphrey describes in Sentience his quest for answers: from his discovery of blindsight in monkeys and his pioneering work on social intelligence to breakthroughs in the philosophy of mind. Nicholas Humphrey, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the London School of Economics, is a Cambridge-based theoretical psychologist who studies the evolution of intelligence and consciousness. He was the first to demonstrate the existence of blindsight in monkeys. He has also conducted research on mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey in Rwanda, proposed the celebrated theory of the "social function of intellect," and investigated and evolutionary background of religion, art, healing, death awareness, and suicide. His honors include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, the Pufendorf Medal, and the International Mind and Brain Prize.

His most recent books are Seeing Red and Soul Dust.