If you could be in the brain of an animal which one would it be?
- Thread starter Altruistic Muse
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Lol doesn't that sound good? Who cares that he isn't that smart? Who needs to be smart when all you have to do is impose your will and get your basic necessities met.
Ok,now in serious-mode I've always held the belief that animals who can't reason don't have a lower quality of life than those who do. I think a bird, a ladybug or even a flee can have a happy life regardless if they don't have a brain as complex as the one we have. Haven't you ever wonder why their lives seem much more simplistic due to the fact that they don't have to think about their choices and actions. They don't feel guilt, arrogance, distrust or any other emotion but all they have to worry about is their survival. I like to contemplate at birds who seem so free, so relaxed without having to worry about money or a place to sleep but they seem so happy just flying into the horizon.
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I disagree. Take the idea of love, for example. It's made to be such a simplistic thing. (At least we're sold it in that package.)
But when you get to know people, people each have a different definition of it. The world and everything in it has countless different subjective interpretations from experience, once you scratch the surface. That's interesting to me.
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Lol doesn't that sound good? Who cares that he isn't that smart? Who needs to be smart when all you have to do is impose your will and get your basic necessities met.
Ok,now in serious-mode I've always held the belief that animals who can't reason don't have a lower quality of life than those who do. I think a bird, a ladybug or even a flee can have a happy life regardless if they don't have a brain as complex as the one we have. Haven't you ever wonder why their lives seem much more simplistic due to the fact that they don't have to think about their choices and actions. They don't feel guilt, arrogance, distrust or any other emotion but all they have to worry about is their survival. I like to contemplate at birds who seem so free, so relaxed without having to worry about money or a place to sleep but they seem so happy just flying into the horizon.
I see what you mean. I don't think that so-called lower life forms have a lower quality of life. Rather the contrary. It's just different. They may not be able to use reasoning in their everyday life, but I think that's a blessing rather than a curse.
A question I ask myself however: what about consciousness? I'm pretty certain that these animals can't 'enjoy' life. Because seriously, what would life be like without feelings?
Who says that animals don't have feelings? Haven't you ever seen a dog whip his tail because he is about to be fed? Or a cat depressed over seeing their kittens die?
I'm pretty sure that animals do have feelings, but they tend to be alot different than the ones we humans posess.
Uh-oh no this isn't right! Sorry my fault.
No, I was actually talking about this with these lovely little ladybugs and flees in my mind! When it comes to mammals I'm not so sure about this feelings thing either, and I have strong reasons to believe that they do have feelings, at least to a certain extent. I often have disagreements about this with people who think that animals don't 'feel' at all. When I look at my dog, I refuse to believe that he can't 'feel', that lovely animal even comes to comfort me when I'm sad, I'm for instance positive that he can sense these things. (Forgive me if this all doesn't make sense, it's 2.26 in the morning here
).Uh-oh no this isn't right! Sorry my fault.
(Forgive me if this all doesn't make sense, it's 2.26 in the morning here
Don't worry Nela you're making perfect sense.
You should take care of your dog as much as possible because I also think that such animals can feel. Treat them with care and love and they would treat you the same.Sea Turtle. They live for a long time so it would be interesting to know if they have any thought process. They have to have some I would figure but maybe they don't.
I'm not sure. I'm not an animal buff...
Bats suit my personality pretty well, but I don't think I'd like being so blind. Perhaps owl...
Or maybe a sloth
Bats suit my personality pretty well, but I don't think I'd like being so blind. Perhaps owl...
Or maybe a sloth
No, I was just teasing you. I know what you mean, and it is entirely possible that the reptilian brain is much like our primitive inner brain that has no recollection or awareness in a sleeping state.
Although on the larger scale people have made a number of erroneous assumptions about animal intelligence. Except for children and people anthropomorphizing animal thought and feelings, the assumptions tend towards dismissing animals. People have an invested interest in animals being "dumb" since we enjoy eating them. I think there might be a natural predatory perspective that discounts prey. Most of the discoveries regarding animal intelligence are in the direction of proving they have more awareness than previously thought.
In a reverse way, science has tended towards anthropomorphic assumptions about animals, but for the result of dismissing them for not being human. A perfect example is the self-awareness tests that place a mirror in the animal cage. This betrays a very human assumption that self-awareness is based on a visual image. Place a human in a cage with a cloth that contains their scent, and we will most likely fail the self-awareness test.
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Animals are not stupid, sure they act differently to use but the functions they have in their brains we could never truly understand. Of course, beign humans we fear the unkown and write them off as being stupid and we're superior when actually.. we're not.
Anyway, to get back on topic, i'd like to study a wolf's/fox's brain. Wolves moreso as i'd like to see the pack mentality they have.
Anyway, to get back on topic, i'd like to study a wolf's/fox's brain. Wolves moreso as i'd like to see the pack mentality they have.
I know what you mean about self awareness tests. The animals that seem to be self aware are mammals and birds. So far 'known' tests have not been able to verify if reptiles, insects and amphibians are self aware... at least that was the latest I read.
Omg awesome question! Let's see . . .well I've always wondered what the world looks like from a fly's perspective; it would be awesome to be a bird because then you could fly . . . and then there's all those sea creatures! But if I had to chose I would deffinately say spider because spiders fascinate me to no end.