|
|
Post by Hardcastle on Jun 30, 2023 22:21:27 GMT
This is a debate that has never really been hashed out. Sometimes people say an animal behaves in a cowardly manner, and then people are quick to defend the animal and say animals can't be cowards and they are just wisely avoiding injury. Some even act like it is immoral and borderline sacrilegious to suggest an animal is capable of cowardice. What do you think?
|
|
|
|
Post by Hardcastle on Jun 30, 2023 22:29:25 GMT
Some intellectual heavyweights disagreeing on the issue, who is correct-  |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2023 22:50:20 GMT
When it comes to animals, the concept of cowardice is probably not applicable in the same way as humans because their behavior is driven by instincts and survival mechanisms rather than complex emotions or judgments.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bolushi on Jun 30, 2023 22:56:15 GMT
The nature of the act is the same- fleeing out of dread and terror.
Humans are also driven by instincts and survival mechanisms. We also have complex emotions and judgements, more so than most other animals, but it doesn't really play into cowardice. It is one of the many emotions we share with fellow mammals.
|
|
|
|
Post by Hardcastle on Jun 30, 2023 23:11:05 GMT
When it comes to animals, the concept of cowardice is probably not applicable in the same way as humans because their behavior is driven by instincts and survival mechanisms rather than complex emotions or judgments. This is what I disagree with. We are animals. Our emotions are our most primal animalistic part. Fear is universal across the animal kingdom, it's one of the most "basal" qualities an animal can have. I believe animals, especially all mammals but realistically all reptile-derived animals at least as well, experience fear in the same way. You get flooded with adrenaline and cortisol and it manifests as fear. Fear is as an instinctual directive to get out of the situation you are in because it is bad and hazardous to your safety and health. Basically cowardice IS instinct and survival mechanism in action. What's uniquely human is judging cowardice as a bad thing, that is our moral judgement talking, BUT in reality it is the exact same thing in animals and humans. All of our emotions are instincts, they are how instincts manifest and they are experienced the same by other animals. When people say "no the leopard actually just knows it can't risk being injured because it needs to be healthy to survive and blah blah blah" they are actually attributing the leopard with human-like reasoning abilities which it does not posess. They're making it smarter than we are. No it just feels the fear and the panic and behaves like a coward. That's all it does. It doesn't know about the REAL reason which, yes, is reducing risk of injury for survival reasons and etc. Those real reasons are something we have only recently come to understand through our reasoning ability and rationality and logic and through studying and understanding things, most of us STILL don't really understand and all animals assuredly definitely do not understand. They just feel fear, and panic and dread, and react to their emotions. |
|
