Do Animals Experience Emotions?

[banker_frank]

If so, do they experience emotions in the same way humans do? If not, how do they experience the world and what dictates their behavior?

[ummmm]

Of course they do.

[spathiphyllum]

To personify an animal is stupid.

But of course an animal will have natural feelings such as fear, happiness, defence. A fight or flight sense of being.

[spathiphyllum]

"do they experience emotions in the same way humans do? "

No. Of course not.

[Rockrose]

Yes they experience fear and pleasure perhaps not in the same way as humans though

[vulcan42]

An animal may react or do something that appears, from a human beings point of view, to be emotional, but that doesn't necessarily mean they experience emotions. I've never noticed pity, for example, shown by any animal.

[woofgang]

Yes
No
Basically what seems to influence their behaviour is what is rewarding and what is not but we can only observe from the outside.

[ummmm]

Watch some youtube clips of animals saving animals. Or soldiers returning from a tour.

I went away for a weekend and my cat ignored me for over a week when I got back.

[spathiphyllum]

Animals don't have a human cognition.

A human will only ever be able to think from a humans perspective.

Humans are generally rather arrogant.

Humans will mirror their emotions and thoughts onto not only animals, but objects ,trees etc.. We are deluded. It's called personification and it is defined by giving non humans, human characteristics or nature.

[spathiphyllum]

does an ant think like an elephant

[ladybirder]

My dog goes bananas as soon as I reach for his leads I guess he's happy. Animals show fear as well.Pity,I'm not sure but I do remember the very sad pics after the Chernobyl disaster where everywhere was deserted except for two dogs, one badly injured which couldn't stand. Another dog was walking around and kept going back to it and licking and nuzzling it. Was that pity? I don't know.

[spathiphyllum]

[Prudie]

As humans we haven't the faintest idea if animals feel emotions like we do and to dismiss it is equally stupid. I have no doubt however that they experience their version of happiness, sadness, grief, love and jealousy. Partly related to their brain capacity. I doubt a jellyfish gives a toss about much for example but I'm sure a dog does.

[woofgang]

Vulcan, i don’t define pity as an emotion, its a combination of emotions. My dogs can certainly be happy, sad, fearful, angry. They also know when I am genuinely unhappy and when I may seem unhappy because, for instance, I am watching a sad film or reading a sad book. The firmer elicits a comfort response and the latter does not. I have also observed happy and fearful behaviours in my tortoises.

[Peter Pedant]

jesus pain for chrissakes
or are you saying pain is a physiological reflex ?

blimey a bit technical for AB

[spathiphyllum]

"As humans we haven't the faintest idea if animals feel emotions like we do and to dismiss it is equally stupid."

I disagree.


Do you think you have the same emotional capacity as a cow or a horse?

Then why would you think it has the same as you?

[naomi24]

Yes, they do experience emotion, but I don’t think their emotions are as complex as human emotion. For example, I don’t think animals have the capacity to plot revenge.

[Mamyalynne]

There's been a lot of study into this over a long period, a wealth of info here with links on to related topics and connected articles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_in_animals

[Prudie]

I said we don't have the faintest idea and I'm not sure why you think you do.

[spathiphyllum]

Because animals simply don't have the cognition that we do. The ability to understand as deeply, to connote thoughts with other thoughts and actions.

Our brains are more advanced in every sense. We can think deeper. More emotionally.

We can only think from a human perspective.

[wolf63]

Animals share all the basic emotions that humans do - happiness and sadness etc. They can suffer from depression when a loved one dies.

They are not able to sit and analyse their past and future and to feel Clinical Depression. They live for the moment.

Some individual animals are intelligent, some are not so bright. Some are vocal, some almost silent. They are, as we are, of nature combined with nurture.

They are usually more observant than humans. Cats can interpret our body language and they know that a change in our routine 'may' indicate a trip to the vet. They then go and hide.

To assume that we are the only ones to have emotions is an arrogant assumption.