Non-human emotions poll

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redhen

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Do you think that there are **some **non-human animals that express some **basic **emotions, like fear or anger?

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I just wanted to comment on St. Francis’ stories on animals. For example, my favorite about the ferocious wolf terrorizing the village. The wolf repented and became docile at St. Francis’ request. The entire village from then on fed him and the children played with him. St. Francis engaged in discourse with the wolf, with birds, etc…they understood him & he understood them…In St. Francis’ stories of animals, he explained how they felt. And, they always follow him around.
 
redhen said:
Do you think that there are **some **non-human animals that express some **basic **emotions, like fear or anger?

Thanks for participating.
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Yes, I think SOME non-human animals express fear…anger…joy…jealousy…empathy…love.
 
If animals have them too, then they must be universal emotions, not human emotions alone. Isn’t fear an instinct?

What point are you trying to make?
 
Of course animals have emotions. You would have to be in denial to state otherwise. Why do you think there are so many animal psychologists out there? do you think people are really that gullible, if it weren’t so? I can tell when my dog is happy sad or depressed.
 
I’m just about to start grad school and I do a lot of work with emotion and memory. We work with animals a lot (note: EVERYTHING must get passed through an ethics board to get the green light) specifically to study emotion, partly because the part of the brain that deals with “base” emotions (especially fear and anger) are in the oldest part of the brain. The idea with emotions is that (like any other trait we have), it serves a purpose, ex: fear can help alert us to danger in the environment.

So in conclusion, YES, I believe animals have emotions! Whether they experience them in the same way or maybe have the range or complexity of emotions we have, is a completely different debate.:o
 
Thanks sbaum, although I wouldn’t say **all **animals. Animals include fruit flys and mollusks. 🙂

I really hope no mad tyrant starts using receptor blockers in the amygdala to eliminate fear in their troops. That would be a sad day.
 
ljubim said:
If animals have them too, then they must be universal emotions, not human emotions alone.
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Not all animals express emotion.
Isn’t fear an instinct?
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No, an emotion is a temporary reaction to an outside stimulus (or some could say internal as well for such events as dreams).
What point are you trying to make?
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I’m trying to find out what percentage of CAF members think that some animals express some basic emotions such as fear or anger. I’m hoping it would be a majority. 🤷

p.s. I’m assuming that those who answer No, mean that they believe that** only humans **express emotion. Maybe I should have been clearer, it’s my first poll.
 
Despite a few stubborn, close-minded hold-outs it is generally recognized scientifically that most "higher’ mammals experience “basic” emotions. A very interesting book by Jonathan Balcombe is called “The Pleasureable Kingdom” which does a very nice job explaining the scientific as well as anecdotal evidence that animals feel not just pain and fear but also pleasure, joy etc…
 
I find it truly baffling that people debate and do studies on animals to determine if they are intelligent, or how intelligent. A recent study showed dogs have an intelligience of a 2 year old human etc…

It floors me. Sometimes I feel like I’m not a human because humans perplex me more than animals do.

Are humans so daft that they cannot understand animals?

My Priest said animals do not have souls. Again, it baffles me. Its almost as if these people never even knew an animal.

It would be like me saying that aboriginals don’t have souls.

Hey, here’s a news flash, humans are animals too. Do we have intelligence, emotions, souls? Ok, well then its safe to say all animals do. If a perso can’t use their logic and reason to figure it out, then maybe they should do society a favor, and adopt an animal from the shelter and get to know one. They are not ALIENS from another planet.
 
Lisa44 said:
Are humans so daft that they cannot understand animals?
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I think it’s prejudice. It was not long ago when the medical community did not think that young babies experienced pain.

"In 1974, in ignorance of the experiments already performed Rich tested 124 full-term babies to determine the “normal response” to a succession of pin pricks around the knee. They concluded that: “The normal response is movement of the upper and lower limbs usually accompanied by grimace and/or cry.” [17]
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All infants demonstrated the “complete” response after six or fewer pin pricks. [18] "

terrylarimore.com/BabiesAndPain.html

". Facial expressions. Second, the pain that babies feel is clearly expressed on their faces. [24] Brows bulge, crease, and furrow. Eyes squeeze shut: bulging of the fatty pads about the eyes is pronounced. There is a nasolabial furrow that runs down and outwards from the corners of the lip. Lips purse, the mouth opens wide, the tongue is taut, and the chin quivers. This look on a human face of any age communicates pain. Why do we doubt that it means the same on the face of a baby? "

Or a non-human ape?
 
I think it is possible people may be asking for your point is because it seems like innocent, simple questions like this are going to be the basis for arguing some agenda that the people who are voting may or may not even want anything to do with, let alone agree with you on. It could be just what it looks like- a simple poll, a matter of curiosity- or it could be the grounds for some other debate, and people don’t like throwing in their opinion only to have it used against them later as “ammo” about something they don’t agree with, because they did not have the chance to qualify/explain their response with an awareness of what you were really getting at in the first place. Hopefully, that’s just a bit of paranoia and you’re really just honestly curious about whether most CAF members think their dog can be frightened. 🤷 But you have to admit it can look a little strange being tossed out there with nothing else attached in the philosophy forum! 😉
 
Redhen,
I started to read that article and it disturbed me greatly to the point of my starting to have an anxiety attack so I stopped reading it.
 
Of course…science shows it. You can read about amygdala stimulation in animals that produces fear responses.
 
Lisa44 said:
My Priest said animals do not have souls. Again, it baffles me. Its almost as if these people never even knew an animal.
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I think your priest may have just misspoken, or you had a midunderstanding. I believe the Church teaches that animals do not have immortal souls.
 
Pray4Life said:
Hopefully, that’s just a bit of paranoia and you’re really just honestly curious about whether most CAF members think their dog can be frightened. 🤷 But you have to admit it can look a little strange being tossed out there with nothing else attached in the philosophy forum! 😉
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Yes, I should have linked it to forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=360267
“why do animals suffer”. It’s a long thread that started with the theological purpose of animal suffering. The expression of emotion in animals is on the last few pages.

This poll is not for ammo on some other website, or to browbeat someone. I’m genuinely curious (and hopeful) that a majority of CAF members believe that humans are not the only species that expresses basic emotions. Higher emotions are more contentious I think.
 
Lisa44 said:
Are humans so daft that they cannot understand animals?
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Yes, I think some are–or they don’t*** want to ***have to admit that animals are sentient beings, and that they don’t volunteer to be kicked, abused, willingly made into lampshades, rugs, shoes, hamburgers…
 
cecilia97 said:
I think your priest may have just misspoken, or you had a midunderstanding. I believe the Church teaches that animals do not have immortal souls.
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Yes, I believe that is what he meant also.

I disagree.
 
cecilia97 said:
I think your priest may have just misspoken, or you had a midunderstanding. I believe the Church teaches that animals do not have immortal souls.
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He also said we should not care for animals as much as we care for people.

I also find that to be quite a disturbing idea. Oh well, he’s a good Priest, I just don’t agree with his ideas on animals and our relationship to them.

If you have a neighbour who has the same ideas as my Priest expressed, you will often see their animals neglected. Why? Because the people are busy with their family and they don’t consider the animals. And sometimes the animal is suffering greatly and its as if the people don’t even notice its suffering. They just tune it out.

I don’t know how people can do that. Just tune out animals and tell themselves they don’t have feelings.

(sorry if I’m going off topic)
 
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