IDK what would be moral for a dog. They do seem fiercely loyal, and will do acts I deem immoral if trained to; like "attack" dogs are.
They definitely don't have the same level of abstraction about morality that a grown human has, but I do think they have compassion and empathy because they're social creatures. I can't remember where I read it, but all social creatures - even insects - display empathy and and a level of compassion, all the way from ants to humans.
But what do we mean when we use the word "empathy"? We have a tendency, as already pointed out, to anthropomorphize behavior of other animals to our own. I think this is misguided. For example ants, because they don't have the same level of abstraction that we have, can be considered wholly robotic in their behavior when they go out of their way to rescue other ants (yes, they have evolved rescuers), but do these rescue ants just follow an instinctual pattern, or do they really have a concern for the ants they're rescuing?
They definitely don't have the same level of abstraction about morality that a grown human has, but I do think they have compassion and empathy because they're social creatures. I can't remember where I read it, but all social creatures - even insects - display empathy and and a level of compassion, all the way from ants to humans.
But what do we mean when we use the word "empathy"? We have a tendency, as already pointed out, to anthropomorphize behavior of other animals to our own. I think this is misguided. For example ants, because they don't have the same level of abstraction that we have, can be considered wholly robotic in their behavior when they go out of their way to rescue other ants (yes, they have evolved rescuers), but do these rescue ants just follow an instinctual pattern, or do they really have a concern for the ants they're rescuing?
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard P. Feynman
