The Emotional Lives Of Animals

emotions in a ‘man-made’ species is not far off in a non-organic life-form, but the question with

“Nearly as many, 68 percent, were concerned or very concerned about the well-being of animals used in ‘sports’ or contests as well as animals in laboratories (67 percent) (Kretzer, 1).” Many people question whether an animal is capable of thought and emotions. Others feel as though animals are the equivalent of humans and should be treated as such. Since the 1800’s, animal rights has been a topic that has several different sides including two extremes. If animals can react to their environment, emote, and are aware of things done to or with them, then they should have similar rights to humans.

Over the centuries, animals have suffered from cruelty from humans. In the United States, animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Animals have been inflicted with pain from humans for reasons other than self-defense. They have been slaughtered for their food and fur for personal gain in profit. In a majority of cases they have even been abused for someone’s own personal amusement or out of rage filled impulses. In some cases animals are found and rescued. They are given the second chance in life to experience what life should be like compared to what they once had.

After attending Barbara King’s lecture on animal mourning I feel that I am much more informed on the topic. She used many different species to present the argument for the fact that animals do grieve. Some animals included were giraffes, crows, and gorillas. During the lecture we were also told to be careful of anthropomorphism, which is projecting our humanity onto animals. We also discussed why we think that emotions are for humans only. Complex emotions were also discussed and much focus was put on mothers mourning the deaths of their children.

Animals are a big part of many people’s lives. They provide companionship; they provide daily assistance to those that have deficits and are having difficulty functioning in their daily life; they provide security and help keep a watchful eye on things, plus so much more. And yet, with all that animals do for us, there are those that are treated with such little regard, care, and cruelty. They are unable to speak for themselves and therefore, they need a voice to speak for them.

Do animals feel joy, love, fear, anguish or despair? What ere emotions, and perhaps more importantly, how do scientists prove animals are capable of emotion? Sea lion mothers have often been seen wailing painfully and squealing eerily as they watch their babies being eaten by killer whales. Buffaloes have also been observed sliding playfully across ice, excitedly screaming “Gwaaa.” Emotions are defined broadly as psychological phenomena that help in behavioral management and control. This is a challenging question to researchers who are trying to determine the answer to this question. Through current research by close observation combined with neurobiological research, evidence that animals exhibit fear, joy

Emotion is a universally understood aspect of human psyche, but people rarely think of this as a characteristic of animals. Alice Walker encountered a horse named Blue whilst renting a house with her companion. Blue was a very depth showing animal, in the way that she could see the emotion he was feeling through his eyes. Apples and Walker herself seemed to be the solace for Blue until he wasn’t alone anymore. Walker writes that Blue gained a counterpart and seemed to fall in love with her, but soon after that Walker saw that the other horse had vacated out of the pen that contained Blue. Let alone animals she talks about how humans also don’t care about other humans even ones they’re supposed to be married to. These factors all contribute to Walker’s belief that society is very unforgiving and uncaring about anything other than themselves.

The idea that social animals can display morals and empathy in the same way as humans do is amazing, but also very natural as they are living beings. Animals can also be very caring, loving, and understanding toward each other. Humans witness this in their homes everyday living with their pets of choice. Zoos and animal sanctuaries also experience all of the human-animal qualities and have the research to prove it. If more people are made aware of the human qualities of animals it can help our animal population to thrive and be safe from animal experimentation. Animals can continue to live happy and healthy lives within their own natural environment. They have and show many moral human qualities such as reconciliation, cooperation, empathy, reciprocity, compassion, understanding, and intelligence.

In the last decade, the views and forms of animal cruelty have changed. Many people have different views of an animal’s rights or purpose. Some people believe that animals have no rights and are a piece of property to be utilized by humans. To others, animals can still be used by humans, but they have emotions as well. A few people consider that only certain animals with high intelligence like chimpanzees or monkeys, should not be used by man, and they should have all the rights that man has currently (“Animal Rights” , 2009). Domestic violence has a correlation with animal abuse. In a survey, 71% of domestic violence victims also reported that their abuser also targeted pets/animals. The most common animals who are abused are cats, dogs, horses,

Normal humans show emotion every day, rather it is being concerned for ones worth or being happy or sad. Emotions are key aspect in classifying one as human.

Psychologists have long debated the role physiological, cognitive and behavioural factors play in emotions. Originally believed to be a physiological experience, research now suggests that emotions are an interaction of both physiological and cognitive factors. Different theories debate the role and primacy of each.

Animals have served humans in more than one way including as a source of food, improving our health, and service in working. They have helped in all of these fields, and humans have grown fond of them. Nowadays, it is seen that people grow to love their pets, and there are many organizations fighting for animal rights. Pet owners are extremely attached, so they suffer a lot of pain when the animal dies. According to a study done in Romania concerning pet loss, humans like having pets and adopting them because they like “caring for a being” that is “dependent on” them. In all aspects of the relationship between animals and humans, they have helped each other in many ways. Animal therapy helps improve human’s emotions and disorders because of the fact that we like to be nurtured and taken care of.

The controversy over the rights of animals continues today within the United States. There has always been a question about the emotions of animals. Can animals feel and exhibit emotions in the same way that humans do? Some people agree that animals do show signs of intelligence and emotions like love and pain. After-all there are bird breeds who mate with only one partner during their lifespan giving us the impression

Chapter 3 explores the concept of universally shared basic emotions, an idea that was first advanced as a theory by Charles Darwin. Paul Ekman and Jakk Panksepp studied the concept of

When talking about emotion it seems a fairly simple topic and immediately "feeling" words come to mind; sad, happy, and confused. These are basic emotions and easy to understand. What isn't so simple about emotions is their process and how they form and work. Emotions are reactions to sensory information like sight, smell, taste, touch and sound (Tracing Emotion’s Pathways 94). However, it is not that simple; an emotional reaction or response is made aware of and understood by a part of the brain called the sensory cortex. These emotional responses or reactions to sensory stimuli are processed by a part of the brain called the amygdala (What’s An Emotion). The amygdala is a huge asset to the cognitive factors of emotions because in processing emotions you become able to understand, recognize, and control them. So then how do emotions evoke a physiological reaction such as tearing up when one feels sad, laughing with joy, and trembling with fear? These physiological reactions that one may experience come from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is, “a collection of fibers that extend throughout