From: L' Ermit (lhermit@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed Feb 27 2002 - 00:55:58 MST
[Zphobic] What do we see in other primates? Presumably some mixture of the
two...
[Hermit] See the references provided, particularly the second. They are
quite short, and I find them persuasive.
[quote]
Counterpoint is the question of whether animals feel empathy. The answer
seems to be yes.
Refer, e.g. [url=http://chronicle.com/free/v48/i09/09b00701.htm]Do Humans
Alone 'Feel Your Pain'?, FRANS B.M. de WAAL[/url] and
[url=http://www.sciam.com/1998/1198intelligence/1198gallup.html]Can Animals
Empathize? Yes[/url]
[/quote]
I'd suggest that by the time you reach the chimpanzee and bonobo, that their
pain reactions are so similar to human reactions as to be distinguished only
by degree, but that the lesser apes and monkeys react more like other
mammals. In other words, I suspect (but don't know) that there is a
threshold of awareness, below which the human like reaction is not
exhibited. I am not aware of research dealing with elephants and the larger
marine mammals, probably because they do not make for ideal lab species, but
suspect that they may show uncomfortable similarities to humans too.
Regards
Hermit
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