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[Deminox]

@jetajockey emotions and recognition and personality and intelligence are all separate things. We evolved emotions for survival, not because of some unique trait to humans..fear. anger. Happy. Horny. Sad. All biological. Nervous, stress, shy, same thing.

Anthropomorphism is when someone starts dressing their dogs like people and has their pet as a substitute child. The pet is still capable of love. The pet just might not "be vewwy vewwy saad mista widdle cuddle bums if he doesnt sleep on his favorite blankey-wankey"

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[jetajockey]

That's a pretty extreme example, I was referring to it in a more broad sense as in people putting the kind of emotions they experience onto their pets assuming they have the same capability.

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[Mebbid]

@jetajockey emotions and recognition and personality and intelligence are all separate things. We evolved emotions for survival, not because of some unique trait to humans..fear. anger. Happy. Horny. Sad. All biological. Nervous, stress, shy, same thing.

Anthropomorphism is when someone starts dressing their dogs like people and has their pet as a substitute child. The pet is still capable of love. The pet just might not "be vewwy vewwy saad mista widdle cuddle bums if he doesnt sleep on his favorite blankey-wankey"

There needs to be a differentiation between base emotions such as fear and incredibly complex ones such as love. The claim made by many people on this thread is that fish can feel love to which I heartily disagree.

Anthropomorphism is defined as attributing human traits, emotions, or behaviors to anything that's not human. Things such as saying that fish are in love with their owners is a perfect example of this. It's a human emotion being attributed with their fish.

 

[Deminox]

In love with owners. .that's messed up. But love is just a more complex version of familiarity and companionship. I think humans put more meaning on it than there is. .

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[ImACoolguy]

Love is often overemphasized. I would put it more as they are "happy" to see their owner. I love my fish but I think when it really boils down animals/fish/insects/whatever are not capable of love. Even in mated pairs..


Caleb

 

[Tigerbarb12]

Im not sure i agree with that. Plenty of animals have proven, in a sense, that they do love. My friend had a dog and cat that were best friends, and when the cat died, the dog became depressed and he said she didnt live but a couple months longer, and she was only a 7 or 8 yr old dog

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[Mar23]

Im not sure i agree with that. Plenty of animals have proven, in a sense, that they do love. My friend had a dog and cat that were best friends, and when the cat died, the dog became depressed and he said she didnt live but a couple months longer, and she was only a 7 or 8 yr old dog

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As much as I love dogs, I think we overanalyze their emotions. Dogs are pack animals. Their survival depends on the survival of the pack. In their packs, they have a hierarchy. When a dog lives with a "pack" of humans, he is well aware that he is the omega member. The overjoyed greeting a dog gives you when you walk in the door is the exact same behavior you would see in the omega wolf towards the other wolves in the pack. It is a way to show submission, so they don't get ousted, as they know they can't survive on their own. Losing a member of the pack (like the cat), makes the dog feel insecure in his safety and new status.


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[Brookster123]

Im not sure i agree with that. Plenty of animals have proven, in a sense, that they do love. My friend had a dog and cat that were best friends, and when the cat died, the dog became depressed and he said she didnt live but a couple months longer, and she was only a 7 or 8 yr old dog

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Separation anxiety is very common in dogs.. far from love though.. what is love exactly? Surely not a scientific term.. chemical reactions that occur deep within our complex brain? A mere tingle in the pit of our stomach? Wish I had a definitive answer.. fish surely don't..

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[jetajockey]

Dogs and cats are not comparable to fish. If you want to put them on the same level them they should also be afforded the same rights.

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