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You're probably thinking of "sapient" which generally implies higher reasoning. "Sentient" means able to feel things, and it's pretty obvious that animals can f
by traverseda 5y ago
You're probably thinking of "sapient" which generally implies higher reasoning. "Sentient" means able to feel things, and it's pretty obvious that animals can feel pain.
- forty 5y agoIt's not obvious at all. Actually it's not obvious at all that anything else than yourself can feel pain :) I agree that it's a reasonable extrapolation though :)
- rembicilious 5y agoI have stepped on a dogs foot. It made a “Yipe!” noise and leapt back. Then it approached me “submissively”, with it’s head held low and tail down. It seems rather “obvious” to me that the animal felt pain, reacted suddenly to the sensation, and then completely changed it’s demeanour towards me.
- alickz 5y agoI believe the person you're responding to is referencing solipsism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism
- forty 5y agoYes, something like this. For all we know, everything else might just be a big chemical reaction, with no pain involved. The dog reaction might just be like a reflex. The only reason why we know it own pain exist is, well, because it hurts :) (But once again, I think the theory that other people and animals also feel pain is reasonable and probably the truth)