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Do animals think?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Do animals think?

Using a dog as an example:

you tell it to sit and it sits is this just a reaction to the command or do they think alpha leader wants me to sit.
If they do then what language to they think in?
if they think in a langauge does it only comprise of a few words or could it be they understand all langauges?
Do we think in a langauge?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    are you stoned ? what would a dog do if you slipped half a pill into its food ? would it run around ? bark alot ? shag the cat ? wander of with strangers ? put the hi fi on ?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    LOL @ everyone

    one-too-many nibbles of the muffin methinks!!! Is your dog talking to you now?

    My housemate used to get stoned and think his geco was talking to him, then one night he got REALLY stoned and in an uncharacteristic bought of animal liberation fever set all the live crickets and locusts used to feed the damn geco loose in the house... it took us weeks to get rid of the infestation <IMG alt="image" SRC="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yes, we think in languages, if you know anyone who's truly bi-lingual they'll tell you that it's a different experience thinking in seperate languages.

    Thinking-in-languages is the only way to deal with abstract concepts that, quite frankly, our brains aren't built to cope with. Human brains haven't quite got to the point where working out your tax returns comes as naturally as plotting force/vector curves to catch a ball, though a lot of how we think tends to get perverted to other uses.

    I don't think the majority of animals would think as we do, few have anything approaching a language, though apes, dolphins and especially whales (what do they do with those massive brains????) would be good contenders. Animals can certainly reason and comprehend abstract concepts and develop self-awareness, but not think as we do.

    Bear in mind though, humans are only smart monkeys, anything we can do any other animal could do given a million generations.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If dogs think...then do they possess personalities?

    For example...maybe they could be homosexual or racist towards other dogs. A bitch on heat might think "Nah, don't like short dogs" an turns down the Jack Russel asking her out.

    Then again, do you think teenage male dogs wank over Lassie? Or maybe they get confused with their sexuality at some point and lie awake all night wondering if they're gay/bi.

    Do dogs get jealous if their mate is seeing another dog? Do they have preferences in musical taste? Or are selective about what the eat because they want an ethically sound dog food?

    I'll shut up now, I've been drinking.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by LIBERTY:
    <STRONG>

    Or are selective about what the eat because they want an ethically sound dog food?
    </STRONG>
    I had a cat that would only eat "felix" cat food, he would have gone hungry rather than eat "whiskers".
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by LIBERTY:
    <STRONG>think Then again, do you think teenage male dogs wank over Lassie? </STRONG>

    My rat wanks.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This thread makes an interesting read on a comedown...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    My cat can definitely think and has a personality. She remembers me even though I only see her about once every 6 months. She doesn't like men, apart from my Dad and my boyfriend. You can have conversations with her, she miaows back to you! She is quite selfish and vain and "uses" people, she is only nice to you when she wants food, and scratches you if you don't pay her enough attention,
    Sounds like a typical man! (Apart from the not liking men bit! Maybe a gay man then!)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Originally posted by LIBERTY:
    <STRONG>Or maybe they get confused with their sexuality at some point and lie awake all night wondering if they're gay/bi.

    </STRONG>

    My dog is a female yet for all her life she has tried to shag peoples legs. Is this normal for a bitch? i dont think so
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What I'd really like to know is how this thread descended from "Do animals think??", which is an interesting topic to pursue, to "My rat wanks". WTF??

    *sigh*

    I try. I really do. Then the wanking rats dance all over the thread and it's all over. I give up, I'll never darken the doorway of a half-way intellectual thread again.

    *strops off in a huff*

    <IMG alt="image" SRC="biggrin.gif" border="0">
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    *busts in with broom and sweeps chorus line of wanking rats out the back door*

    awww, come back Lord of Little, its so good to see his Lordship riding out across the boards again after so long. You've been missed... you can see the depths to which we have sunk in your absense.

    If you're after intellectual debate, I'm kicking Turtle's ass in the " Blonde or Brunette" thread in Anything Goes! <IMG alt="image" SRC="biggrin.gif" border="0">

    [ 21-01-2002: Message edited by: kaz ]
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thank you fair Lady, I shall be right over to stir up trouble and generally annoy everyone.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think dogs 'think', they learn through association, they sit because they've learnt that command demands that responce. Correct behaviour is rewarded with positive regard or action.

    stimulus ---> responce

    Thats basic Pavlov's dogs psychology, classical conditioning, etc. It's not thinking so much as reacting.

    However, dogs do have an understanding of their environment and can react accordingly, for example; avoiding things. I believe that they only posses basic primal thoughts such as fear, pain, hunger, aggression and tiredness. They do not have a great grasp or concept of the world at large.

    'Language' is a difficult term to define, thus is difficult to use in this situation. Language can be vocal, but can range to other types such as appeasment gestures and body language... which dogs and cats posses. However, I would argue these are still instinctual innate biological actions and are probably not fully comprehended by an animal. Humans have much larger developed language areas in the brain than any other organism known to man.

    LoL, you wanted an intellectual discussion in the Drugs Forum? Hahahahaha! Infact, I'd better lower the tone myself! Here goes; "My dog doesn't like me anymore, it must be the fact that I gave him 13 strokes last night before I fell asleep". Couldn't resist. <IMG alt="image" SRC="rolleyes.gif" border="0">
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