RE: Do animals have free Will?
February 9, 2012 at 8:36 pm
(This post was last modified: February 9, 2012 at 8:40 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
Assuming free will exists,which I do not assume,at least to the extent we like to think. My position is that IF there is such a thing as free will,it is extremely limited. My perception is that most of the apparent decisions we make are predetermined by instinct,habit, previous experience and genetics.
Accepting free will in humans as a given for the sake of argument:
If free includes problem solving,then some other animals can be said to have free will to some degree. Dolphins,some apes and recently some birds,such as rooks have been observed solving complex problems. EG rooks have been observed making a tool to make a tool. I have actually seen a piping shrike (magpie) with a broken beak use a twig to dig for worms.
Some animals are also self aware.EG dolphins and some apes can recognise their image in a mirror as themselves. Virtually no other animals have that ability,as far as I'm aware.
However,I think behaviour such as protecting the young,even compassion to one's own are instinctive behaviours. That a dog's loyalty is the instinctive behaviour of a pack animal to its perceived pack.
I have no time for apologist special pleading and self-serving definitions,which try to make humans extraordinary. We are not extraordinary,we are merely animals with delusion of grandeur as far as I can see so far.
Accepting free will in humans as a given for the sake of argument:
If free includes problem solving,then some other animals can be said to have free will to some degree. Dolphins,some apes and recently some birds,such as rooks have been observed solving complex problems. EG rooks have been observed making a tool to make a tool. I have actually seen a piping shrike (magpie) with a broken beak use a twig to dig for worms.
Some animals are also self aware.EG dolphins and some apes can recognise their image in a mirror as themselves. Virtually no other animals have that ability,as far as I'm aware.
However,I think behaviour such as protecting the young,even compassion to one's own are instinctive behaviours. That a dog's loyalty is the instinctive behaviour of a pack animal to its perceived pack.
I have no time for apologist special pleading and self-serving definitions,which try to make humans extraordinary. We are not extraordinary,we are merely animals with delusion of grandeur as far as I can see so far.
