Its presence can be detected using the ‘mirror test’. Children don’t pass the test until they are 18 months to two years old. Failing to pass the ‘mirror test’, it was thought, meant the absence of self-awareness, but a modified version of the test seems to show that this conclusion is wrong. Dogs might seem to be ideal candidates for membership of the consciousness club but, surprisingly, they fail the entry test. In 2017, the ‘olfactory mirror test’ was devised.

Source: Irish Examiner January 08, 2026 13:39 UTC