|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:10 pm
|| w e l c o m e 2 P o l l s P a r a d i s e ||This idea came to me the other day when I was remembering some of the debates we had in an old High School class of mine. One was about animals and if they had souls and feelings or not.
I personally believe they do. I can tell when my two cats are hungry or afraid of something or angry. My cats hiss at me when they don't like the fact that I touched their tail or their paws. They circle around my feet when I'm in the kitchen which lets me know that they are hungry. And I can tell when they are scared when they get low to the ground and start running to find a place to hide like down in the basement or under my parent's bed when there's a thunder storm going on outside.
I know that they can feel pain as well after once or twice when I was younger I stepped on one cat's foot on accident and she did a high meow noise and got away from me.
There were a few people in my old class that said they didn't think animals had feelings. That there was no way that we could ever understand what they want or mean by something.
I disagree. Sure there are things animals do that are strange like when my cats roll around on their backs in the grass outside when they are on their leashes. But then there are actions like meowing or the hissing that tells us how they are feeling. They may not speak like humans, but they can speak and communicate in different ways that we have learned to catch on and understand.
Discuss:
Do you think animals have feelings or not and why?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:27 pm
Of course they have feelings. Not complicated human feelings, necessarily, but certainly basic, instinctual feelings like anger, fear, hunger, pain, pleasure, etc. They simply communicate those feelings in different ways than humans do.
In a lot of cases, it's easy to tell what an animal is feeling, usually due to the fact that we've been around that animal (or that kind of animal) for a long period of time. For example, we all know dogs wag their tails when they're happy. We all know cats hiss when they get annoyed or angry. We probably don't know when, say, a kangaroo is feeling a certain way, unless we've been around kangaroos long enough to understand them.
The ability to communicate thoughts and feelings is based on the level of intelligence. Animals with higher intelligence are more likely to experience more complex emotions. An insect might not know what "jealousy" is, but it definitely knows what "fear" is. That's evident by the fact that a bug runs away when it's threatened. If it didn't feel afraid, it wouldn't run away.
I dunno about having a "soul", though. That depends on one's definition of the word.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:35 pm
[I belive so. I'm sure, like Z said, they don't process them the same way we do. My rabbit, which I adore, seems to get frightened, she seems to get upset when I'm away for too long or when she is hungry. Actually I think animals are a lot like babies. Babies have feelings but haven't really learned to express them and process them.
Hmm, soul. Like go to doggie heaven?
I would like to think so since I believe they have emotions. Like I said they are like furry babies, and babies have souls.]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:47 pm
I believe that animals do have feelings.
For example, when I have to leave the house and put my dog in his crate, he cries. Although those feelings go away after a while, I'm sure he still feels a sense of loneliness and longing to see people.
However, I do believe that their emotions are not as complicated or detailed as ours. Humans have a tendency to feel many emotions all at once: stressed, sad, angry...Animals may have mixed emotions, but not as complicated as ours.
To think that an animal does not have any emotions is like saying the sky is green. All living creatures have feelings, even if it's harder to express them like humans do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:15 pm
I believe that what Zorlock had said was 100% correct, in that they do not have feelings on the same level as us. They feel pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness, etc etc. When it comes to love, I really don't know, because if, as an example, a cat has sex with another cat, and then the next week sees the the other cat having sex with some *different* cat, I don't think that they would feel betrayal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:10 am
I think that they have emotions...anger, sorrow, hate...you can see it with the way they interact with other animals..males you fight over a female...if you have a pet, you can see they sometimes get sad when they haven't seen you for a while...yes they have emotions it's just that they don't express them the same way as humans, and maybe they aren't quite as complex as human emotions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:16 pm
Of course they do. Animals aren't too different from us, I think we're just gifted with a higher intelligence. So why should they not be able to feel anything? I really do think ANY living thing can feel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:34 pm
~Demonic Muffin~ I believe that what Zorlock had said was 100% correct, in that they do not have feelings on the same level as us. They feel pain, pleasure, happiness, sadness, etc etc. When it comes to love, I really don't know, because if, as an example, a cat has sex with another cat, and then the next week sees the the other cat having sex with some *different* cat, I don't think that they would feel betrayal. Muffin, I disagree with the love aspect. Love and sex are two different things. Humans have sex without love. And most of them rarely feel betrayed. Animals don't have sex because they love, they have sex to continue on their genetic lines. Which is only an animal instinct that humans follow too. I have three cats. Don't tell me they don't love. I'm staring at my oldest and youngest sleeping curled into each other. And it's the most peaceful sight I've ever seen. But the youngest would never let the middle cat pull the same stunt. Nor would the oldest. (Just for simplicity, Sophia is the youngest, Cry Baby is the middle, Max is oldest) If Sophia gets into a fight with Cry Baby, Max will always come to Sophia's rescue. (Oh wait, does a cat grooming another sleeping cat count as affection?) When my husband walked out on our marriage, he left me with Max. Max would cry nonstop and mope around without my ex. There was definite sadness in his actions. And any time I mentioned my ex's name, Max would lower his head and flatten his ears. He latched onto me until we got Sophia. Now the two are inseparable. I went away and left Max locked in a room with plenty of water and food for 3 days. I came back and he had cried himself hoarse from loneliness. When I scold my cats, they hide from me for a while. They know they have done wrong. When I have had time to calm down, they reappear and inspect me to see if it's safe to come near me again. When they feel it is safe, the come close very slowly and look oh so soulfully at me as if to say I'm sorry before cuddling in apology. (As for fear, any time I mentioned my grandma coming to my house, my rats I used to own would run into their house and not come out until I told them it was all clear. Smart rodents.) There is so much more I could say about this. And if you must really say anything, look at humans. If it is anything about intelligence making humans more emotional than animals, I would like to say that in my town, some cows are more emotional than humans.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:33 am
Animal Games is correct.
The way mankind is treating the word love, using it and feeling it, you can't say animals do not love.
So it can't be the level of emotion.
But what about the awareness?
Do you think your cat Max understands why he is sad when left alone?
Do you think he is aware of his 'love' (he might be aware of his affection towards her, but that's the sexual instinct) towards Sophia?
Fuselage Frenzy's dog cries when locked away in a crate. Does he cry because you lock him away, is it his cry for the freedom of running around or is he really aware of his loneliness, is he missing you?
The awareness of emotions in (wo)mankind goes so far that we fake emotions so we can enjoy their consequences on us and our environment.
E.g. every married housewive forsaken by love from her husband. She tells herself everything will turn outright, that she still loves her husband although he has stopped loving her for a long time. She, and he, fake their emotions for the kids, for the neighbors, for their own family.
Animals may feel as we do, as strong and complex as we do but I don't believe they would be aware of those feelings as we are.
The insect would flee from it's threat due to it's fear, and when the threat is gone it will relax and settle, won't it be jealous of every bug that would be able to defend itself instead of running away? I say the insect would be, but it wouldn't be aware of it.
Not the way a human being is aware of his fear and jealousy.
Conclusion: Animals have feelings, but not the same way humans feel. I don't know if lesser feelings, or if it is better that animals aren't aware of their emotions.
But it's a different kind of emotion they feel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:04 am
Well, unfortunately, the only way to answer any of the questions about this is to ask an animal. And since I don't speak feline or fish, the world may never know what the animal is truly thinking...
Oh, and pet therapists are frauds. At least the ones that sit and "talk" to your pet. It comes down to knowing the pet's history and seeing it's current situation. It's simple analysis that anyone can do. Just open your eyes and pay attention. If your dog hates walking by larger dogs and you know he was terrorized by larger dogs as a puppy, don't call a therapist. Just work with him yourself. It's free...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:38 pm
I believe that animals have feelings that actually are stronger than ours.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:22 pm
Porcelaingirl_Melissa I believe that animals have feelings that actually are stronger than ours. Care to back that up?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:54 pm
Yes, animals do have feelings, it just depends as to how, or wether or not, we able to interpret actions as an expression for feelings.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:25 am
Yes, animals definitely have feelings. For example, they have a Nervous System which has them feel pain. Animals aren't much different from humans. I'm talking body structure that there are many similarities. I can't tell what humans would look like if we never would have started this thing with building houses, etc., but I'm very sure that we would be almost the same as any land animal. Maybe we would be exactly like a Gorilla or Chimpanzee, and if we have feelings the way we live now, it should be the same if we never would have started this chain with human nature. I also have two rabbits and three horses, and they show affection and make certain reactions to different things. I strongly believe that animals have feelings just like we do, and there are many more logical explanations to it as well other than what I just said, I can assure you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:41 pm
They might!
They might not..perhaps it all depends on the animal.
I mean they feel physical pain..why not mental?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
