The Emotions Of Animals

People often wonder if animals have feelings and have emotions. For years now we have been discussing this issue, which sees the opinions of those who have a pet and those who, on the contrary, do not have one on two opposite sides. 

Some believe that the type of emotions referred to should be clarified, whether they are basic or advanced. What is clear is that the feelings of animals do not reach the level of human ones, and that they are unable to express them in the same way. Let’s first find out what emotions are.

What are emotions and what are feelings

The term emotion indicates the biological or psychophysiological materialization of a mental state.  Emotions are produced by the release of hormones that push action. Emotions are less lasting than feelings, but they can be experienced with greater intensity. 6 main emotions can be identified: anger, fear, joy, sadness, disgust and amazement.

A feeling is a manifestation of emotions that turns into a lasting state. If as a child you are afraid of sleeping with the light off, but parents keep turning it off, over time the emotion can turn into a feeling, which can last until adulthood, leading in this case to be afraid of dark.

For these reasons , emotions are considered ephemeral, while feelings are lasting.

What the experts say

Studies on the behavior of animals aimed at determining the presence or absence of emotions have been going on since the earliest times. Aristotle, for example, argued that animals were totally different from human beings, and that they could not feel or manifest emotions, since they act according to instinct.

Descartes supported the same theory, stating that although animals manifest physical pain through their yelps, this does not mean that they feel suffering at the same time; according to the philosopher, therefore, animals do not suffer.

However, several experts claim that animals actually manage to get excited and have feelings. Among them we find Jane Goodall, Mark Bekoff and Darwin.

What the animals say

Even if they cannot speak, animals can tell us a lot through their behaviors. Who has never seen films like “Lassie” or “Hachiko?” Didn’t the canine protagonists show emotions? Indeed, perhaps we could even call them feelings.

Types of behavior that reveal emotions

Let’s try to think now about how animals behave in front of certain situations. There are probably others in which they remain impassive, yet the ones we will list below demonstrate that there are cases in which animals act on what they feel.

• When you harm an animal. It is undeniable that animals show their pain by barking, running away or crying. And if you try to hurt them again, they get defensive, appearing aggressive.
• When the master dies. There are thousands of cases in which animals wait for their deceased owners day after day, dying in the hope of seeing them again.
• When an animal is abandoned. When animals feel abandoned, their vitality is extinguished. They feel alone. Aren’t these emotions?
• When they see their master again after a long time. Any animal is happy to see its owner again after a long time. Isn’t it about feelings?
• When you scold an animal. We are not talking about mistreatment, but reproaches similar to those a good father makes to his children. In these moments a being devoid of feelings would remain impassive. Shout at a plant and compare it with your animal’s reaction.

The debate will never have a conclusive point, there will always be those in favor of this theory and those who are against it. Furthermore, as often happens, there are players whose interest is to make people believe that animals do not feel emotions. Who I am? The many laboratories, pharmaceutical industries and beauty centers that carry out experiments on animals and that even go so far as to extract substances from their bodies to create their products.

If it could be shown that animals actually have emotions, their business would suffer greatly in terms of earnings.

Now that we have dealt with the topic, everyone can draw their own conclusions. We got an idea, and you?