Originally posted by swanlefitte That is dogma. It is just as dangerous to assume that humans have emotions other animals cannot possess. Anthropoegotism.
We keep proving what sets us apart doesn't.
100% IN AGREEMENT. I had several unpleasant exchanges with psychology professors at my college, all of whom took it as given common knowledge beyond question that
animals do not feel pain. I would point out that pain, together with heat, cold, light pressure and heavy pressure, are a consequence of stimulating nerve endings each of which has a specific unique structure. If you put ice on a heat receptor, you feel heat, if you squeeze a heat receptor with pliers, you feel heat, if you manage to "tickle" a heat receptor with a feather, you feel heat. There's no question that at least other mammals also have these types of receptors. Furthermore, the overt reaction or behavior of an animal such as a dog after receiving what a human would consider a painful experience is just what you would expect = loud vocalization, withdrawal, cowering, and later cowering, avoidance, escape, and perhaps whimpering when faced with the possibility of a second imposition of the painful event. They say "you don't know what is happening in the animal's mind," I'd respond: "neither do you."