Quote:
Originally Posted by MMKB
I don't have the time to make a long post at the moment so I'm going to post a link to this site instead.
Take a look, your view of other animals as biological machines (I assume that's a fair analogy of your view?) is quite antiquated. |
MMKB, the idea of animal sentience is an extremely biased and touchy one, because it's one of the biggest issues in the animal rights debate. I can guarantee you that no website or "essay-like" argument is going to give you an accurate portrayal of animal's minds. For this reason, I suggest that you find only sanctioned scientific studies. I'm sure the
animal welfare institute isn't biased at all, but it's always good to be on the safe side.
Either way, I'm agreeing that they have memories and such. They aren't machines, but they also aren't "self-aware." They aren't individualistic, they don't create, and they don't practice rational thought through language. Yes, some animals recognize different people and animals and even themselves in mirrors, but no one's denying they have memories. Being "sentient" goes far beyond recognizing the image of yourself in a mirror.