[iHunter02]

[dkeehoe]

isn't it proven already? that animals have feelings?
or you can think like this...Humans are animals also.

[Hayate Gou]

lol @ the cat

[Cross-sama]

Well... I would say that animal definatly have feelings. I mean they may not be as complex as ours, but the way animals basic logic instincts work is not that different from ours. When you need to eat, you get a hungry feeling. Im sure animal have the same urges. Plus to reproduce, there has to be some feeling to stay and raise the young. I mean it would be impossible to perfectly write a computer program to emulate the way a bird raises its young. It is clear that the mother bird has feelings that guide it. For another example, if you pet a cat one time you see it, and the next time you see the cat it follows you, it is clear that the cat has developed feelings twords you. Another thing that indicates that animal have feelings is the whole dynamic of social animal. For example elephants or gazelle. When isolated, a gazelle is very likely to die, but when in a herd its survival rate greatly increases. To communicate between animals there must be some forms of emotions. Ive also read an article in Scientific American that describes how Elephants show greetings with other elephants that they havent see for a while. For example one elephant will act differently when it meets an elephant it has ready met compared to an elephant it has never met before.

This was my initial reaction. Then i went googling and did some research.

--[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
This page shows a study that has to do with cows, proving that cows have feelings.

--[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
This article shows proof that orangutans likely have feelings.

--[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
This is a pretty generic article on the topic

In conclusion, I am sure that animal have feelings. I think that it would be impossible for an organism to survive without some basic emotions. One could argue that animal action are only chemical responses to stimuli, but if you think about it, are our emotion that too...

Fun topic to think about!
--Cross

[austinjklim]

Animals can have feelings. Cuz like a dog, when he see his master, he is HAPPY.

[bestie]

this is a really stupid question anything with a brain should have feelings.

[Esthin]

I think they can.
My old dog used to be sad and happy depending on what happened. For example if we took her to the vet she would be really grumpy and annoyed with us for the next few days, then she would make up with us later :3

[Konradz]

EDIT : I hit "Post" by accident. -.-

Thing is, there is a difference between emotions and feelings. (EDIT :although yeah, both can be used to have the same meaning in English...there's not the French subtlety)
Animals sure feel emotions. Animals can feel fear, anxiousness, pleasure, pain, sadness... These are both physical states and states of mind, and they are natural consequences to a physical / social environment.

However, the fact that these animals do feel things such as happiness, or fear, does not mean they are aware of said emotions. A dog might be happy to see its master, but that does not mean it is aware of its own happiness, of its own emotion, which could be explained by the complexity of the human brain compared to that of an animal. That is, we will never be able to prove an animal is aware of its own emotions, because we can't get to their head, and they can't communicate properly with us to give us the answer themselves.

So, personally, I believe that although animals can have emotions/feelings, they can not comprehend them, and what I conclude is that these "feelings" animal have are only physical and are not something the animals are actually aware of.

[jologs16]

@ Konradz ~ ...will be thinking about it

[BitPire]

I agree with [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and I would like to add that animals are lacking the 6th sense, which gives the abilty to think abstractively, so they can't be aware of their own feelings.