by: Ahmed Ali

Introduction

Have you ever wondered if animals feel emotions like we do?

For many years people believed animals weren’t capable of feeling emotion. An ancient philosopher Descartes once stated “ animals were merely ‘mechanisms’ or automata. Complex physical machines without experiences”. This theory has caused many people to believe that animals are inferior beings. People can often be mislead by false information or a lack of comprehension which leads them into making false assumptions on wether animals really do feel emotions or not. But just like people, animals are capable of feeling joy, sorrow, fear, anger, and a wide range of other emotions. 

Emotions are a feature of all living things, including rabbits, pigs, dogs, monkeys, and even bees. In most animals, notably dogs, a person can identify an animal’s mood simply by observing its facial expressions or its behavior. For instance, everyone is aware that a happy dog wags its tail. But some may claim that only animals such as dogs and other common pets are capable of feeling emotion. What people may not understand about animals is that they are beings capable of things we humans are not. People feel compelled to label animals as non-sentient beings simply because they cannot talk to express their emotions. Despite the fact that we humans are unable to truly comprehend animals, we nonetheless think poorly of them. Animals are capable of things that most people believed were not possible.

Deeper Dive

Animals can even show complex emotions such as empathy. For example, a man named Lawerence Anthony who was a conservationist, worked in a elephant reserve where he learned to communicate with elephants. Anthony spent his time on the reserve caring for the elephants and keeping them out of harms way. After Anthony died, the elephants stopped by his house everyday to pay their respects towards the man who once helped them feel safe. 

Another example of animals showing emotion can be found in a study conducted on rats. According to the study, rats can feel sympathy for their companions. Rats in the experiment saved their pals from drowning. In the experiment while one rat was submerged in water, the other swiftly picked up on how to use a lever that would let it escape to a dry location. The fact that the rats sacrificed a treat that would have fallen if they hadn’t pulled the lever to aid a fellow rat makes this experiment much more astounding.

What we can learn from these instances is that animals really do feel emotions. Animals have been thought of as inferior due to the fact that we don’t comprehend their existence fully yet. Moreover, Some people contend that since we can’t ask animals what they’re feeling, we can’t really grasp what they’re feeling. However, many who work with animals contend that most of the time, you don’t need to communicate to understand what’s happening. That only serves to emphasize how very different animals are from people. We mistakenly believe that only humans are capable of experiencing emotions like grief or rage, but it turns out that animals may also be able to do so. When you consider all the ways that animals communicate, it also makes sense. Some of such behaviors may even be used as emotional cues by them!