Do you think that animals are conscious?

Question

if no then do you think it's OK to torture them?
if yes then are you vegetarian? what's the difference between killing an animal and a human?

Answer 1

yeah, all animals are sentient beings, meaning they think and feel, which is why i could never torture or kill one... i'm mostly vegetarian - i consume dairy, eggs, and the occasional chicken or fish 'cause a vegan has to either eat a variety of beans evey day or would otherwise have to obsess about getting all 16 essential amino acids (i...e, proteins) from plants alone... so, i know humans naturally need a little meat, but we certainly can use our big brains to devise ways to be more humane...

Answer 2

All animals are conscious.

Some animals are self aware - comparatively few among the higher mammals.

No, it is not OK to torture animals such as by keeping them in captivity for our personal enjoyment as pets, denying them their natural habitat and instincts and breeding them into distorted shapes that negatively affect their well being (e.g. English bull dogs).

No I am not vegetarian.

Farmed animals are not tortured. They are well fed. The are protected from predators. They a receive medical care in case of illness or injury. They never die of dehydration. They do not live in fear of predation. They do not freeze to death in the winter. They live a life that is MUCH better than they could possibly enjoy in the wild. Then they are stunned before being killed painlessly.

While some animals have self-awareness and something we would recognise as intelligence beyond instinct, these are not the animals we kill for food, though some thoughtless, cruel people do still kill whales despite the international ban on whale hunting.

The difference between a food animal and a human is that the food animal would mostly not exist had we not bred it for food and food animals lack the self-awareness and intelligence to justify their having anything akin to human rights. Despite this, they are not treated cruelly ... or they shouldn't be.

Answer 3

I think animals are conscious and very sentient, the only differing factor is intelligence in some. I am a pescetarian and also a chef. I think alot of people who eat meat do so with out consciously thinking about where it comes from, infact its become so normal and abundant that people buy it from a supermarket shelf/butcher all nice and clean and thats as far as the thought process goes. I sometimes wonder if people had to catch, kill and clean up their own meat if theyd be so keen after watching it live. Or if they saw the processes involved in mass meat production if it would change their thinking. Im not criticising meat eaters, im just wondering about the societal view in general. As for killing other humans-as in your own kind and is not done for food is a bit different. To add, torturing any living thing is disgraceful and there is alot of trend moving away from meat producers who are not treating the animals respectfully as possible ie-labels such as free range, grass fed etc

Answer 4

There is nothing wrong with choosing not eat meat. But don't be deluded that there is any higher cause than that, or demonizing those of us that do.



I am a hunter, and I eat everything that I kill. Having said that. Let's do away with the notion of "clean kills." This is a dreamy notion that attempts to make some people feel better. Killing and death is ugly, It's painful, and it is impossible to kill without suffering 100% of the time.



Nature is brutal, and lower predators will likely start eating their prey alive. So yes, I think animals are conscious...ly trying to eat. Also overpopulation is worse than any predator. Which is partially why humans have spacific hunting seasons. Famine and disease will kill very painfully, and slowly... you wanna talk about torture?



Lastly; Killing animals for food, and killing people are two very different things. Killing people is an inability, or flat out refusal to reason in some capacity, and likening the two is illogical.

Answer 5

Yes all 'living' creatures have consciousness. Consciousness is the state of being 'aware'. if Animals were not conscious, then you could bag a Deer with a baseball bat.

It is never ok to 'torture' any living creature. Killing an animal for food is ok; however, torture? you have a problem.

Difference between killing an animal and killing a Humanoid; is the 'emotional' factor involved. When you kill an animal, you see your next meal; however, killing a human goes against our inbred instinct for the preservation of the species. Even in a 'combat' situation, this underlying feeling/instinct will still be there and will affect you emotionally. This is one of the consequences of being able to conceive in the abstract.

Answer 6

Yes animals are conscious because they can make really small choices. No it's not okay to torture them because only serial killers torture animals. No I am an omnivore. I eat lots of different things. I feel like some kinds of food are healthier for my body like chicken. Chicken really works while eating just veggies makes me feel light headed as if I only drank coffee or something and didn't eat anything and felt buzzed while tired and exhausted. So I eat bread and meat. Gluten be dammmed. I just eat more rice, broccoli than chicken. Or depends on my mood. Maybe I will eat more chicken. I also love cheese. It just makes me feel better.



I know the chickens think and feel. I also know they were produced in a business which I have no control over. If I had to, and there was no business I probably would raise my own chickens and brocoli and rice pattys. And I would raise my chicken like samurai and they would fight because chickens do that. And I would execute the loser, as they would understand because of the chicken bushido code. And I would play the samurai creed every morning. Trust me, those would be some awesome chickens. And as a group we would morn the delicious passing of each hardened chicken of chicken sparta. (my farm name).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrV06TGkzmY

Answer 7

Animals were put on the earth by the Holy Spirit God himself and one reason was for food, I don't support animal abuse neither do I support killing of animals in abusive ways or caging them. It's okay to eat an animal for nutrients and protein and taste, but it should be an animal that was fed correctly and treated well with good living conditions, often also that will make the meat better for you! Don't feel guilty about eating an animal I find myself sometimes feeling that way but it's only for the animals who are abused, which should be outlawed in my opinion...but yeah animals don't have a brain like humans and are conscious but see the world very differently than we do!

Answer 8

I think there is a wildly huge gap between torture and needing to be a vegetarian to justify the humane treatment of animals. When you think about the torture that animals are put through in say a puppy mill it is easy to differentiate between what is proper and improper treatment. When it comes to food, you can still be a meat eater, take the practice of Islam and Judaism into consideration for a minute....both are required to treat the animal in such a way that will cause it no suffering should they decide to use it for a meal. Therefore making it possible to respect the life of an animal and also eat meat. The difference between killing a human and ...lets say a chicken is that humans are not used to provide protein nutrients to the body in the way that a chicken of cow can. Now I would say that it is possible to get these nutrients from other sources but lets think about the places in the world who would not have access to those resources or vise versa. Now all that said, I would say that the difference between human and animal lies in the capabilities that each have.

Answer 9

"There’s a rat in a cage with two sides: one bright and one dark. One of the rat’s survival mechanisms is to favor the dark side and avoid the bright side at all costs. But when the rat goes into the dark side of the cage, it gets shocked. After a few shocks coincide with its favorite habitat situation, it remains on the bright side despite its lifelong instincts. Is the rat now afraid of the dark, or is he simply trained to avoid it?



If the rat were a human, he’d probably tell us he’s afraid of the shocks in the darkness, which shows the ability to feel emotions. We know humans have the capacity for consciousness because we think, make decisions, have feelings and a sense of self. And each of us believes that other humans have the same ability. But we don’t yet have the technology to go into the minds of those around us to see and feel what they do.



This distinction is all the more difficult when it comes to non-human animals. We think that our pets are happy when we come home, or sad when we punish them for ruining the brand new couch. But we can’t go into their minds to really know how they’re feeling, or whether they are actually conscious.



The animal consciousness debate has higher stakes than a simple desire to know whether Fido or Fluffy has feelings. It affects how scientists think about and conduct their research on non-human animals, and whether researchers should or should not make assumptions about their subjects’ consciousness while doing their experiments. One side believes scientists must separate the mechanisms that detect and respond to threats from those that create conscious feelings of fear, while the other believes these mechanisms are one and the same.



But this is not a new debate.



“It has been going on forever,” said New York University neuro-scientist Joe Le Doux, one of the most vocal of a group of researchers who think non-human animal consciousness isn’t relevant in experiments or even scientifically resolvable. “The basic idea is about how many assumptions scientists are willing to make about animal consciousness.

Answer 10

Of course they're conscious. that's been proven by science for decades. No I'm not a vegetarian. Animals have nutrients we need, and taking suppliments is NOT the same. We have canines, which evolved for eating meat, because we need it in our diet to feed protein to our brains and muscles.

Answer 11

Of course... I'm an animal and I'm conscious

Answer 12

We're animals aren't we?



There's nothing wrong with killing animals for food, man evolved by hunting and eating meat. Unless you want to regress back to sticks and stones, I don't see the problem? Vegetarianism in the West is more or less an city religion - people totally detached from nature that they create a sort of mythical Garden of Eden type idea of it. Dolphins should be criticised openly however, especially the Bottlenose Dolphins, as they sometimes kill for fun. Arrest them! Where's PETA when you need it!?

Answer 13

I think animals are conscious. But at the same time think about what would happen if we didn't kill them. Supply and demand apon nature. Animals will either be strong enough to kill each other for what the need or die of starvation or lack of a proper habitat.

Answer 14

쪠베



Depends on the animal. The sapience of creatures ranges anywhere from sponges and single celled organisms who lack a central nervous system and any means of self perception al the way up to H*mos@piens an other primates. I don't see consciousness as a black a/o white thing. Even among members of the same species;there exists a wide range of levels of consciousness, particularly among humans. Our; age, mental IQ and current mental state all play a role in how we see the world around us. A 10 year old child will not the see the world the same a 25 year old adult would. A mentally challenged person with an Iq of 50 will not the see the world the way a person with an average IQ would.

Answer 15

Of course some probably have more consciousness than some humans , all life down to a single cell has consciousness , body and soul the evolutional energy of goodness most call God , as an Evolutional Goodhist I eat some meat taking responsibility for the harm I am doing , humans generally have a greater consciousness than animals so more harm is done to my consciousness if I harm them .

Answer 16

Yes, all animals are sentient beings, meaning they think and feel, which is why I could never torture or kill one. I'm mostly vegetarian - I consume dairy, eggs, and the occasional chicken or fish because a vegan has to either eat a variety of beans evey day or would otherwise have to obsess about getting all 16 essential amino acids (i.e, proteins) from plants alone. So, I know humans naturally need a little meat, but we certainly can use our big brains to devise ways to be more humane.

Answer 17

Animals (in Douglas Hofstadter's formulation) have limited levels of consciousness and thus limited levels of humane treatment required.



Dog: 50% of a human

Cat: 25%

Rat: 10%

Cockroach: 1/1000th% human.



Thus the distinction between pets and wild animals.

Answer 18

I have never eaten a conscious animal, that's horrible.

Answer 19

Yes; dolphins and whales have a larger cerebral cortex then humans and also have a larger emotional range(their percentage of body that part of brain takes up is larger, in ratio, to humans). Dogs whimper when I'm pain, love to see their loved ones come home, ect. I'm not a vegetarian because I'm allergic to milk, egg, wheat, peanut, treenut, soy, fish, and shellfish... I've looked into it and there is literally no way for me to get neccesary protein and be healthy.

Answer 20

Yes they're conscious.



Killing an animal isn't torturing it. The difference between killing an animal and killing a human is legally defined.



Veganism is absurd.



When I worked as a chef, I used to make sure every vegan I fed got a little bit of beef.

Answer 21

Yes I think that animals are conscious.

No, I do not think that it is okay to torture them.

No, I am not a vegetarian.

People can legally kill some animals (not all) for sports and food, but killing people is illegal.

Answer 22

What ask means if they are awake, we are all awake! If you mean do they have a sole? No! Years ago a scientist took up weighing people as they were dying and each time one died, their weight decreased! This was then tried on animals, they did NOT loose weight when they died. Couple of times a photo has been taken when one was dying and a cloud like item floated out of them and up and caught on film! Seen lots more times when a camera was not around!

Answer 23

Here comes the vegans preaching their beliefs. Okay there's a difference between killing animals and torturing them. I'm all against animal cruelty but I love bacon

Answer 24

Yes, animals are conscious (at different degrees of development).

And I will stop eating fish and meat when governments and religions stop killing people.

Answer 25

Yes, I think so, they seem to get around ok an don't run into trees or anything like that. Yes killing animals is ok but, the human digestive tract is not adapted to digesting large amounts of meat, because it is 89% identical to the Chimp digestive tract and unlike the Carnivores we don't produce large enough amounts of acid.

Answer 26

Your logic is humorous. Killing is killing. Be it plants or animals. It's just this stigma society places on animals. Especially your "cute" ones for animals that society frowns on, generally speaking, that are slaughtered just for food.

Society gives to little credit to the souls of animals. The pedestal of vegans, in my opinion, is funny to me. The realist that's me laughs at the logic that energy isn't taken from some form of life.

Answer 27

of course animals are conscious. i have been awake all night because i have a cat living in my back garden. all of the male cats, 3 or 4, have been chasing her all night and fighting among themselves.

this proves that every sense organ has an object of consciousness.

buddhism has 9-levels of consciousness.

buddhism has ten-spiritual worlds of existence.

buddhism realizes 3000-spiritual worlds in amomentary state of being.

there are mnay types of consciousness to which most people are not aware. this is one of the valuable things to be learned from study.

meditation is practice of realizing these doctrines as the reality of your own life.

while animals do not meditate to elevate their own live condition, the amount of thinking they do on their own level, can be augmented by your prayers for them.

then theoretically, they are capable of the same levels of consciousness as human beings.



unfortunately, the obverse is true as well.

Answer 28

Mammals are.

Beyond that you have a hard time proving it.



What is the difference between killing a gazelle for food, like a lion does, or killing a chicken ? Both the gazelle and lion are mammals and thus conscience. Yet you have no problem with their eating arrangement.



I think you are not dealing with conscience, but with personal guilt. Something that IS unique in humans.

Answer 29

Of course they are conscious. You can tell because if you hit a kitten really hard on the top of its head with a tablespoon it will become unconscious.

Answer 30

Yes, they are conscious.

Vegetarian? Trying to be but only because it much healthy.

Answer 31

Yes

Answer 32

Obviously, they are conscious.



They know when they are hungry, and they go find food. If they taste the food and don't lie it, the find other things to eat.

Answer 33

yes their conscious

a human being was made in the image of god. animals were not made in god's image

Answer 34

Animals suffer PAIN and Agony when they are killed .



HUMANE KILLING OF ANIMAL IS B.S. --" SELF-CHEATING "



God shall NOT be there,where there is Pain-Agony-Sufferering-Meat and Blood .



A Vegan Atheist has a " RESERVED" Seat in Heaven than A Meat Eating

THEISTIC PRIEST .

Answer 35

Some almost certainly are, others maybe yes maybe no, and others, probably not. Torturing animals is seen as a sign of psychopathy.

Answer 36

Every living being whether human or animal is having consciousness, the feeling of "I", associated with instincts of life including fear for personal safety, hunger, ability to hunt for food, recognition of mates, sexual union, producing off springs, feelings of joy, sorrow, anger, enmity, etc.



Though scale of abilities and intensity of feelings vary from species to species depending upon sense organs they possess, one thing fundamental is that all animals have consciousness. Humans are also animals provided with brain which made them intelligent and superior to all forms of life on earth.



From the human anatomy it is evident that by nature man is made to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Whether one can kill animals and eat meat is a matter related to ones religion and customs of society. One has to eat food to survive. What to eat is ones choice. There are vegetarians who eat only plant food and there are non vegetarians who eat plant food and meat of animals. There were cannibals once upon a time who used to kill fellow humans and eat their flesh.



Killing animals for food has been accepted in all civilizations and all religions, but torture of animals is considered sin since they have consciousness, and forbidden.

Answer 37

They are not sentient beings however they have feelings and personalities and they feel pain. Carnivorous animals cannot choose to be vegetarian however I respect those who can live the vegetarian lifestyle.

Answer 38

90% of all animals kill other animals for food.



Vegetation also has defensive mechanisms to protect them from predators.

Answer 39

ABSOLUTELY! When you train them or give them an order...they understand.

Torture...............NEVER!

I am NOT a vegetarian.

It's about the same, except, a person rarely goes to prison for killing an animal.

Answer 40

Yes, but I don't think they understand it. Due to sin the laws of survival and domestication have taken over.

Answer 41

Are you conscious enough to realise that you evolved to be a carnivore !

Answer 42

They are limited to small things; the things we plan and do are beyond them, they are not equipped to control their environment the way we do. In the niche, they function; as we do. We all work where we work; if we step outside, it is difficult to function. How many could survive in the wilderness? Or animals in our wilderness (cities)?

Answer 43

Do some research. Go rescue a puppy.

Answer 44

Yes.

Answer 45

Yes.

Answer 46

I think many animals are so cute! Especially kittens and puppies. And kittens and puppies playing with chimps.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMdkTtUvKEg

Answer 47

This all suggests something wrong with you. Regardless of the answer.

Answer 48

I'm surprised you need to ask.

Answer 49

Yes, and yes I am vegetarian.

Answer 50

Do you kill the human in order to eat them??

Answer 51

Yes, and that is the reason I am Vegan.

Answer 52

No

Answer 53

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