Are animals sentient?

[Zakyath]

Ethnics and moral are based on emotions. Emotions often aren't logical, yet we still follow them.
Animal rights aren't based on logic but rather on human compassion.

I actually think you're not entirely right there. If someone makes us good, we turn happy, if someone makes us bad, we become sad or angry. It's as logical as it could possibly get.

If you get to hit something without any specific reason that either has feelings or no feelings, I'm positive most people without DID will chose to hit the one without feelings

 

[ElderKingpin]

without DID? and. animals have feelings. i guess. i mean. we dont know how a dog or a cat .. etc. thinks because we are not dog.. cat.. etc. We dont know what other humans think but we dont question they have emotions.

 

[Zakyath]

without DID? and. animals have feelings. i guess. i mean. we dont know how a dog or a cat .. etc. thinks because we are not dog.. cat.. etc. We dont know what other humans think but we dont question they have emotions.

DID -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociative_identity_disorder

And I don't really see how your post was related to anything at the moment. I'm sorry, must be my mistake.

 

[MasterOfABCs]

Animals are so freaking sentient.

I had a meaningful, fulfilling and lasting relationship with my cat.

Now we are married and have three kids.

 

[nabbig2]

Ethnics and moral are based on emotions. Emotions often aren't logical, yet we still follow them.
Animal rights aren't based on logic but rather on human compassion.

The same thing could also be said about human rights. Acting upon emotion isn't always bad.

 

[Ninja_sheep]

I actually think you're not entirely right there. If someone makes us good, we turn happy, if someone makes us bad, we become sad or angry. It's as logical as it could possibly get.

I'm not saying emotions are never logical. Emotions are made to be logical but they can't keep up with the changes of todays world.

If you get to hit something without any specific reason that either has feelings or no feelings, I'm positive most people without DID will chose to hit the one without feelings

Yeah, because the thing with feelings will hit you back

 

[Zakyath]

Yeah, because the thing with feelings will hit you back

No, because if you haven't got any sort of mental disorder you should have the ability to feel empathy

 

[Ninja_sheep]

Yeah, you're right, but that doesn't make my statement wrong.

But that's getting away from what I said originaly.

 

[Samael88]

aware of their own existence

Please explain what that means in detail or answer the question "What exactly is sentience?"

 

[Zakyath]

Please explain what that means in detail or answer the question "What exactly is sentience?"

If you are able to feel or perceive subjectively, you're sentient. (I'm not very good at definitions.)

 

[ElderKingpin]

recently ive been thinking that sentient means being able to discern between right and wrong.

 

[Zakyath]

recently ive been thinking that sentient means being able to discern between right and wrong.

I don't disagree, but hasn't it to do with being feeling (or at least being aware of it) feelings?

 

[Samael88]

All animals can be affraid, and that is a so called emotion or feeling, so no sentience has nothing to do with feelings since most animals can feel that and other emotions as well:thdown:

And the perception of right and wrong is actually a part of thinking subjectively, since the very essence of it is to sort objects into different categories. It is not a nessecity for sentience though.
Ivan Pavlov, a famous psychologist, he experimented with dogs and electric chocks.
One of the things he tried was putting a bowl with food infront of a dog which was tied to a electric chock device, when the dog tried to eat he chocked it. The dogs started to associate the desire for food with the chocks and if I recall correctly he had a lamp that lit when they could eat.

This is called associative learning, it is not a part of objective thinking. It is on the other hand the act of selfpreservation which is an instinct, it has nothing to do with being sentient in any way, thus making for that the dogs not being sentient.

I saw a documentary about some people looking for "The Adam of science", they traced a certain strain in our DNA back to a tribe in africa. I don't recall it all but they made a conclusion that there was a male their which we all share a common gene with and that he was the first intelligent human. He outsmarted the other males and breed with the women and his DNA survived until this day and I actually think that this was the moment in time where humans gained their sentience. Then the question remains, what made this person make bows and arrows and learn how to use them? How did he manage to build a language? Because of objective thinking of course!
There is actually a strain of chimpansees somewhere, I don't know where though, that is actually using sharpened sticks to hunt, the question remains there though, does it really require objective thinking to do that?

I still think that there is no sentient animals except humans on this planet, and if you want to argue against it please read this text because I have put a lot of thought into it

 

[T.s.e]

I still think that there is no sentient animals except humans on this planet, and if you want to argue against it please read this text because I have put a lot of thought into it

How do you know that we actually are sentinent? How can you disprove that we act and feel according to chemical reactions in the brain which defines our reality and everything around us? How do you know that our patterns of thought aren't defined at birth within our DNA?

Scary thought.

 

[FireCat]

I still think that there is no sentient animals except humans on this planet

I Don't Agree.

I agree on that

Animal SentienceThe basis of animal rights is the recognition that animals are sentient beings

 

[Zakyath]

FireCat: You wouldn't want to summarize that huge block of text?

 

[FireCat]

FireCat: You wouldn't want to summarize that huge block of text?

Nah, It would be a lot more then this Quote of text.. If I do that.

 

[ElderKingpin]

How do you know that we actually are sentinent? How can you disprove that we act and feel according to chemical reactions in the brain which defines our reality and everything around us? How do you know that our patterns of thought aren't defined at birth within our DNA?

Scary thought.

Because i doubt chemical reactions can fire off at the exact same time for every person with the exact same type of reality.

 

[Samael88]

How do you know that we actually are sentinent? How can you disprove that we act and feel according to chemical reactions in the brain which defines our reality and everything around us? How do you know that our patterns of thought aren't defined at birth within our DNA?

Scary thought.

You my friend have not taken a course in psychology, that is clearly noticable

We are born with some traits, that is the instinct that makes us crave for boobies at birth you know
There are basically two things about the human psyche:
1. The inherited part, this is the basic instinct such as survival.
2. The learned part, the part which we are taught by other people and our enviroment.
There should be another one as well, but I am currently to tired to remember that.

And I sure hope that you are aware that every emotion you feel, every time you feel pain, sorrow, joy, love. It is nothing but electical impulses and chemicals in your body!
In fact, the human body is actually not that different from a computer in functionality, perhaps a bit more complex though

Scientific studies of Animal Sentience
The most basic way of experiencing the world is through feeling or sensation. 'Sentience' is defined as the ability to have perceptions and sensations. A 'sentient animal' is an animal that is aware of his/her surroundings and of what happens to him/her and is capable of feeling pain and pleasure, at the least. The current scientific consensus is that all vertebrate animals, at least, are capable of feeling pain and experiencing distress. (For this reason anti-cruelty laws exist in many countries.)

That is not the correct definition of the word sentient according to the dictionary.
"Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectively." That is what the dictionary says.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you did not read my entire post neither did you understand it, if you have read it then argue against that instead of making random quotes.
And also, that block of text comes from here:
http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/FAQs/AnimalSentience.htm
They have nothing to do with the answer of this question and their homepage is not a legit source for such information!

Off Topic:

Because i doubt chemical reactions can fire off at the exact same time for every person with the exact same type of reality.

You have never heard about the phenomen of simultanous menstruation of women If they live together long enought they get it at the exact same time, so yes, it is possible

 

[ElderKingpin]

the entire world isnt made of women