3 ms·
Engaging in play is not unique to humans, so assuming an animal is just fooling around is not anthropomorphizing anything.
by chmod775 4y ago
Engaging in play is not unique to humans, so assuming an animal is just fooling around is not anthropomorphizing anything.
- jdironman 4y agoIt makes me wonder if they engage in "play" does it evoke some "emotion" in them such as joy etc? some reward maybe? and if it does does other scenarios evoke other emotions we consider to be human centric. Anyone have a link to a good paper regarding it?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- bitwize 4y agoOctopuses have been known to nuzzle favored humans with their tentacles, and to spit water at disliked humans through their siphon. Do they really feel affection for their favored humans? I don't know. Discussions of this sort tend to devolve into debates about "qualia". What I do know is that octopuses appear to manifest signs of affection, and of contempt. And that I'd be honored to be nuzzled by an octopus, and I'd surely prefer that to being spit at by one.
- dolphinboiiii 4y agoIt's amazing that some people are so arrogant that they think humans are the only species capable of playing and being anything but bots that respond to stimulation. It's equally ignorant to assume they don't have emotions as it is to assume they do. We literally don't know, but the harm in assuming they don't is people get a free pass to be cruel without guilt. If you assume they do then maybe you'll think twice about torturing animals or destroying their habitats.