Martin Dessart
PhD student at Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, University of Tours
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What Is It Like to Be a Bat? In 1974, T. Nagel asked a transcendental question about the subjective experience of another animal. The way I feel, my emotions as well as the senses I use to perceive the world, are unique. How then can we know that every human being feels in the same way? What about non-human animals ?
I am deeply fascinated by how Evolution has shaped the incredible perceptual abilities of animals. Cognition, the mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses, is the area I want to explore. More specifically, I am deeply fascinated by how animals use their vision to interact with their environment, navigate or escape from a predator.
I am currently studying invertebrate cognition in Tours, France, in particular the role of water pollution on the learning and memory abilities of mosquito larvae.
By understanding how animals perceive the world, I strongly believe that we can draw inspiration from this to develop applications and preserve our environment.