Declan Smithies, professor and director of philosophy graduate studies, researches what it means to know something and to have consciousness. His book The Epistemic Role of Consciousness, argues that consciousness gives humans knowledge of the external world and that without consciousness, we wouldn't know anything. Since a dog can know whether there's food in its bowl by perceiving its bowl, Smithies says, it's very plausible that the conscious experience of seeing or smelling the food in the bowl can give dogs knowledge. Join host David Staley for his conversation with Professor Smithies on this week's Voices of Excellence