Are animals capable to feeling the same emotions as humans? Do they feel guilt, embarrassment, grief and love?
Sophia from Greater London (Age 15-24)
Answer:
Darwin wrote extensively in the 19th century about the expression of the emotions of animals and people so it’s a question that has long been pondered.
Talking to various colleagues at Newquay Zoo, there are mixed opinions on this. People mentioned animals showing recognition of death of owners or members of their group (famously elephants and Greyfriars Bobby). Where it gets complicated is the human names we put onto various emotions in animals – happy, sad – etc which becomes almost too ‘anthropomorphic’ for many. We often get asked about how our zoo animals are feeling (to be fair, some animals always look ‘miserable’). Talk to people who have a close relationship with animals and they will talk about how animals become highly attuned to the emotional state of their owners.
Mark Bekoff in a recent article in New Scientist (23 May 2007) gives one example I like from a recent book called “Pleasurable Kingdom” by ethologist Jonathan Balcombe who tells a peculiar story about fish crows -
“They first engaged in flight play then, over the next 10 minutes, one bird (always the same one) repeatedly sidled up to the other, leaned over and pointed his/her beak down, exposing the nape. The other bird responded by gently sweeping his/her bill through the feathers as though searching for parasites. There was every indication that they were mates or good buddies, and that their contact was as pleasurable for both giver and receiver as a massage or caress between two humans.” All the signs are that many animals can experience pleasure. There is also ample evidence they feel joy, especially during play.”
Mark Norris, Education Officer, Newquay Zoo
Answer 2:
Many animals express some of the same emotions as people, such as fear and anger, but they do not express them is the same way. A frightened pigeon flattens its feathers against its body, while an angry pigeon ruffles its feathers which makes it look bigger. Whether animals feel the same emotions is problematical, because (1) a human actor can express emotions without feeling them, which shows that it is not necessary for humans to feel emotions in order to express them. If it is not necessary for humans, then it may not be necessary for other animals. (2) If animals feel emotions, they would not feel them in the same way as we do, because an animal does not have a human brain. They may feel them somehow, but we can’t tell how. We can’t tell how, because (3) when a person says to you how they feel, you can only interpret this in terms of how you would feel in their situation. This process (your feeling about them) is called empathy. To understand animal emotions you have to try to empathize with the animal.
David McFarland, Science writer
Filed under: Animals Big Questions, Anonymous Scientist's Big Answers, Answered Big Questions, Biology Big Questions, Brain Big Questions, David McFarland's Big Answers, Mark Norris' Big Answers, age 15-24
There is a gorilla called Koko – you can look for her on the web – who has been taught deaf-mute sign language. She had pet kitten that she became fond of, and when it died she was expressed her sorrow through signing, and we observe the delight of a dog when its owner returns, the distress of an elephant when her calf dies, so it’s clear that animals do experience emotions.
Do they experience them in the same way? Even between humans, we can’t say – grief may be more distressing for you than for me – and animals’ instincts are different to ours: wolves have a stronger pack instinct. It seems likely that the closer an animal is to us, the more similar its emotional response.