First thread, yay.

I personally don't think it matters one way or another and we should just assume that they do, since, if animals don't have emotions, what about people? For all I know, you folks could all be simulations in a virtual world, kind of like a single-player version of the Matrix.

The above paragraph may confuse some of you; I want to know if you think they do or they don't, not the implications of reality.

I'm figuring the majority are going to go undecided, I just left Yes and No up there just in case you guys surprise me.

That said, I say Yes, they do, computer simulation or not.

Edit1: Also, I wasn't aware that this has been definitevely proven, nor am I arguing, I just want to know what you think.

Edit2: Removed part of edit one, as someone mentioned (and as I myself was aware... it just slipped my mind, sorry) insects may or may not have emotions as well, so yes, I suppose I'm covering that.

Edit3: Argh, I KNEW I missed an option, oh well, it's a bit too late to change it I guess. If you say Yes but only some, just please eleborate in a post, best I can do (although, many of you have already gone ahead and done so).
Also, I would like to note that my original estimate for the poll has been absolutely destroyed. Surprised I am.

Which ones? Insects probably don't, reptiles maybe, most mammals do. There's a lot of animals out there.

We're still having trouble figuring out exactly what emotions are; I doubt we can apply a vague concept to a true or false statement involving animals anytime soon.

Animals have emotions, though they're much more basic than ours. Or rather, they don't interpret their emotions in the same way we do. Since most animals lack the capacity to reason, they rely on instinct to respond to their emotions rather than our logic, which probably manifests itself as a series of urges rather than the clearly-defined feelings we have.

They do have emotions by all means, however.

I think they do.

Aardvark:
Which ones? Insects probably don't.

If not then why do flies fly away from a flyswatter? I believe its fear

Are you kidding? Anything with a brain has emotions. Have you ever spent two hours with an iguana? They actually have a pretty wide spectrum of emotions.

I'm pretty sure that most animals have emotions. While some our very easy to see like your pet dog and the abused animal scared of humans. It is hard to see the emotion of ants because we cannot tell visually the emotion that humans or other animals with their face or actions.

So I doubt people will find a reason to say no or be undecided in the matter.

Yes, any sentient being has emotions. They are a survival instinct.

until my cat starts discussing the news with me i have no idea.

As Im reading this, my cat is on my desk, half blocking my monitor, batting my mouse (ennit cute!). This is her being playful.
I've seen her scared, excited, content, angry. So from first hand experience, I say yes, they do have emotions.

4thegreatergood:
Are you kidding? Anything with a brain has emotions. Have you ever spent two hours with an iguana? They actually have a pretty wide spectrum of emotions.

Sorry about that, didn't mean to infer I was speaking of mammals exclusively.
I've revised the OP.

If animals don't have emotions, then that means that there's no such thing as a frustrated monkey trying to open a can of beans, and frustration has something to do with anger, so that's an emotion or whatever, and a frustrated monkey trying to open a can of beans is hilarious, and I will not have my source of hilarity compromised, so I'm gonna say yes.

Maybe not some complex emotions, but they clearly have some. Fear, anger, and happiness can be easily evoked from an animal. For instance, if you yell at a cat, it will run or crouch to make itself smaller because it's afraid. If it's mad, it will puff itself out and hiss. If it's happy, it does that squinty-eye thing and purrs. Obvious physical manifestations of emotion, just as cowering, frowning, and smiling are for us.

Snowalker:
I think they do.

Aardvark:
Which ones? Insects probably don't.

If not then why do flies fly away from a flyswatter? I believe its fear

its a kind of fear, maybe. it's more like they feel stimulus (eg in this case the wind) blowing against sensors in their body, and it causes them to move out of the way. i suppose its a very primitive fight or flight

I think they do.

For me humans are animals too.
And there's the old question, what seperates the human from the animals?

If you hit an animal it becomes afraid of the beating (just like a human).
If you hug it and pet it it'll probably like you.

Some probably do, some probably don't.

It really doesn't matter anyways though since most people only regard, with sensitivity, living things that they can personify via gestures and reactions similar to human body language.

Like the context of this thread... how do we know that plants don't have emotions? We don't and we just don't care because they can't tear up or frown.

fullmetalangel:

4thegreatergood:
Are you kidding? Anything with a brain has emotions. Have you ever spent two hours with an iguana? They actually have a pretty wide spectrum of emotions.

Sorry about that, didn't mean to infer I was speaking of mammals exclusively.
I've revised the OP.

I wasn't thinking mammals exclusively. I tried to take the best non-mammal animal I've encountered.

It depends on if you think the urge to survive is an emotion. Are urges the same as emotions? If so, then all animals have emotions. If not, then most mammals do. That's why some monkeys carry around their dead babies for days after they've died. Or why dogs whimper when you leave the house.

Hey, are you human? Yes? Ok, Are humans animals? yes? Ok, then animals have emotions......

Well, depends on the animal. I mean, ants and moths don't seem to express anguish or happiness, but dogs exhibit a wide array of emotions.

Yes

Example: Kick a cat out the door and if it returns it will ignore you... Heaven.

I didn't know about the issue, until I was introduced to elephants.

"Yes"

jim_doki:

Snowalker:
I think they do.

Aardvark:
Which ones? Insects probably don't.

If not then why do flies fly away from a flyswatter? I believe its fear

its a kind of fear, maybe. it's more like they feel stimulus (eg in this case the wind) blowing against sensors in their body, and it causes them to move out of the way. i suppose its a very primitive fight or flight

What about bees and ants protecting the hive? not trying to play devil's advocate, just saying. In my opinion, all things have emotions. Maybe not in a directly relatable way that we do, but if a momma hippo loses her baby hippo, she's gonna be upset!

Of course they do!
Cats purr when they're happy, dogs bark when they're angry. Dogs also cry, they just don't have tears.

no. they are just savage beasts.

Depends what animals you are talking about.

Cats, Dogs. Yes. They do.

Beetles? No they don't.

A mosquito has no emotions, it is simply a biological robot programmed by instinct, where as cats and dogs do irrational things for the sake of fun. People argue that their enjoyment is just a way for them to practice or develop skills, but in the end, a lot of what we do, we only enjoy because we trick ourselves into thinking it is beneficial to us. E.g. PC games, we fix puzzles, kill bad guys etc.

So basically, Add a 4th poll option - Some of them do.

I don't know, I haven't mind-read any animals lately.

Well I think the most primal expression of intelligence is emotion. Our instincts and base impulses seem to be steeped in them. When you have the instinct to attack someone its often out of fear or anger. When you eat a good meal you feel happy.

I actually heard an interesting NPR piece today about a raw milk cheese maker and his cow farm. The cows were apparently quite intelligent for cows and had personalities that were easy to pick up on. If they had any intelligence at all even in terms of instinct I would have to guess those are translated to emotion rather than any higher reasoning.

I think that hive insects don't have emotions because they are basically just tools for the queen to control

thought most others have emotions of some sort or another

Only polar bears do.

I don't know, but dogs can't look up....

Michael_McCloud:
Animals have emotions, though they're much more basic than ours. Or rather, they don't interpret their emotions in the same way we do. Since most animals lack the capacity to reason, they rely on instinct to respond to their emotions rather than our logic, which probably manifests itself as a series of urges rather than the clearly-defined feelings we have.

Animals feelings are the same as ours; they don't "interpret" them as in think about them abstractly, but they would feel the same. But animals can reason and learn. For example, if a cat is trying to get up somewhere and it chooses a route that doesn't quite work, it will look around and pick out another path before trying it. My cats have certainly learned that if they're hungry and I'm at my computer, I won't get up to feed them until they jump up on my keyboard a bunch of times and get in my face; when they're not hungry, they'll just sit to the side. And pets definitely shit in bad places when they're pissed off with you; it's the only time they'll wait for you to find it and watch you clean it up.

Arcticflame:
Depends what animals you are talking about.

Cats, Dogs. Yes. They do.

Beetles? No they don't.

So basically, Add a 4th poll option - Some of them do.

Like as stated above, it was always possible to tell how my dog (God rest his soul) was feeling. Especially when he was bored and in need of attention :). When it comes to animals like cats and dogs, you can usually tell what their emotional state is by looking at them or observing their behaviour. It is hard to imagine something like a beetle or fly to have any use for emotions and even if they did, how would you be able to tell if a fly, for emaple, was expressing fear, anger, sadness or happiness?

If my dog is anything to go by, then yes. Dogs wag their tales when they are happy and whimper when they are sad or lonely, the bark when they are scared, angry, or annoyed. That's enough evidence for me. If animals didn't have emotions, then, what would they have? They'd be like lifeless shells or bugs.