You’ve probably wondered at one time or another about how animals think. What motivates a dog to cajole us to play, or to protect us from a danger we may not perceive? Do cows think only about chewing their cud when out in the field? How do the many creatures we see every day, in cities and in the wild, experience the world?

It’s a question that occupies a growing number of scientists studying animal consciousness. They’re painting, as writer Stephanie Hanes reports in her fascinating story today, an increasingly complex portrait of how nonhuman creatures from goats to bumblebees interact with their environment. It’s work that may inform all sorts of human activity, from where we build roads to what we eat. It may change your perspective.