I know I'm going to get a bunch of comments based on the title alone, but please read the article.
Cool read. Crows respond to a human pointing by looking in that direction; dogs reunited with their returning military owners respond by jumping, yipping, and licking the owner quickly and repeatedly; plants have been recorded "screaming" when a leaf is torn off. So I believe anything living/growing has feelings on some level.
some plants become more toxic when they realize they're being overrun by caterpillars. And have you ever gardened and gotten mimics? OMG one summer what I thought was Cosmos was RAGWEED??? Being new to both was all "this shit is taking FOREVER to flower!" Then once I realized I'd been punked, ripped them out with an anger that only a lying sneaky plant I'd doted on all summer could inspire. LOL
And trees communicate through underground networks of fungus...or something.
@EllenDale haha tree voodoo. I love it!
I"m so sorry about your tree. I get very attached to ours. Imagine you weren't able to treat it?
And thanks. It's awful. I've a botanist tell me the only chance it has is to treat it with a heavy duty super toxic fungicide, can't do that as it's smack in the back yard with our dogs. ?
I never see people consider the long term impact this crazy weather is having on our trees. When the trees give up that's it. I kind of like breathing.
At what point in the development of humans, from fertilised egg cells to adults, do they acquire feelings and consciousness? I think it is the same with animals in the evolutionary development. I would even venture, that plants have them at some level. I regard some animals as I would a 2/3 year old child
I agree.
I wonder if octopus grieve.
[bbcearth.com]
"There are essentially four components to death that psychologists have identified: Irreversibility, non-functionality (the dead do not respond to anything), causality (the biological basis of death), and universality: all living things will die, including yourself.
“When, and in what order did we acquire these components?” she asks. “To understand the extent to which non-humans possess any of these components can tell us a great deal about the evolutionary origins of our own cognition.”
Yes. Depends on the feelings and the animal. Anger - for sure. Grief - maybe. Love - does anyone or anything? Etc.
I had this argument when I was in high school with a kid next to me. He went on and on for 20 minutes about how animals had no feelings, etc.
It finally occurred to me that perhaps, maybe, he had never had a cat or a dog. So I asked him if he has ever had a pet.
Without missing a beat, he said, "I had a worm once."
? I truly believe children who weren't raised being taught how to nurture another living creature successfully, kindly, are deprived and too often it shows way into adulthood.
I'm so thankful I was allowed to keep all sorts of pets, and in turn, am passing that on (I hope).
@EllenDale Trump is the first president in 130 years to have no pets.
From observations, it is apparent to me that dogs and cats do. I had a cat given to me (years ago), that if, when I can home and did not go directly to the refrigerator and give him something to eat, he would tear into my legs with his claws. It was either kill him or give him away...opted to give him to a guy and gal I knew who wanted him due to his beautiful Grey fur and green eyes(he was a handsome devil). A short time later I heard the guy took him out and shot him due to his newly acquired habit of jumping into the warm, freshly laundered clothes basket and urinating. So in that case, that cat seemed to be expressing an emotion when he clawed my legs...anger...as did the guy who shot him for peeing in the warm clothes, fresh from the dryer.
I think there is sometimes truth in "color personalities" with animals. e.g. Red dobermans being goofy and overtly affectionate... tuxedo cats funny & sweet, etc.
I've a dear friend who had a psychotic "blue"(grey) cat that was legendary at ripping up veterinary staff. When that cat passed she got another just like it, a gorgeous, GORGEOUS long haired silver cat with the palest of green eyes. That cat is pure evil, but my gf loves it.
I couldn't live with what that cat has done, wired wrong.
We are animals and we have feelings, so...
You win the internet for today.