Snakes/Reptiles and their Emotions The argument

[j_h_smith]

You're entitled to your opinion, but let me try to explain why your opinion is wrong

If its an opinion, it can't be wrong.

What you're arguing is completely unrelated to snakes having emotion. Snakes emotions are not a matter of relativity and perception. It is fine to ask philisophical questions like "what would we think of _____ if we had never seen one" but a snake doesn't have the capacity to even form thoughts like that. They have no cortex! They have no ability to construct abstract thoughts. Their reactions to stimuli are based on the fight or flight reflex. IF YOU REALLY WANTED TO GO OUT ON A LIMB you could say that snakes can express two emotions; anger and fear. Either their brain sends out a message that says "get aggressive" or it sends out a message that says "run the heck away". Or they can stay neutral. That's it.

See that's where you're thinking like a human again. You're putting human sense into a non-human scenerio. We believe what we perceive to be the truth. Just like many years ago, we as a civilization knew the Earth was flat, now we know differently. We've learned beyond our perception.

I guess I have trouble understanding why "They don't have that part of their brain" isn't a good enough explanation... It's not a matter of we just can't imagine what it's like to think like a snake; it's that snakes lack the physical capability to 'think'.

Again, you're equating human knowledge with what could be. I'm asking you to think outside the box. Just because we investigate something and because of our knowledge base, we say something has to be this or that. Who's to say we're just thinking the Earth is still flat?

How about this way. It's like if I said "Pigs can fly"; but pigs can't fly, they don't have wings; "No, see, pigs can fly, they just maybe fly differently than we can imagine them flying". See how rediculous that sounds? Now how about "Snakes can feel"; but snakes can't feel, they don't have that part of their brain; "No, see..."

No this is not the same. Pigs can't fly or have never made it known to us. Therefore we perceive pigs can't fly. In order to have flight, animals need to be endowed with some type of wing structure. Since pigs do not have these, they cannot fly. But a snake has a brain, it may not be constructed in a way that we can understand its function. We try to put our human understanding on the line and say that since we need to have this or that and a snake does not have either, therefore they can't have feelings. Well who's to say? Why can't we realize that just because we don't know something, doesn't make it imposible. Humans discover new things all the time. When did the first boat float on water? When did the first plane fly? When did we realize the Earth was not at the center of the universe? Before all of these discoveries, we knew we had the answers, then something changed. A discovery was made and now we know how to build a boat, build a plane, realize we are just a small blip in the cosmic scheme of things. We make discoveries all the time, then our perceived world changes. Not before the dicovery, but after.

I dunno, believe what you want, just have some PHYSICAL evidence to back it up.

Theoritical Physics-Theory of physics. Where the human race learns about things that have never been thought of before. I can ask you the same thing, show me physical proof that a snake can't have feelings? Not what we think we know as fact but actual facts as known by the cosmic beings, otherwise known as God. Just because we think as a race (society) we know the answer, doesn't mean we do. We only perceive the answer by what we can observe. When we are enlightented with unfounded knowledge is the only time we can say we've learned something new. Maybe, we haven't learned the right "stuff" just yet to satisfy your need to percieve actual knowledge.

I know this is a lot of mumbo jumbo, but this is why we need to continue our growth of perceived knowledge. One day, maybe we will actually know everything, but my guess is that if this day were to come, it will be millions of years from now.

Also, wth was up with that whole dimensions thing? There are three dimensions. X, Y, and Z. You know why there are only three dimensions? Because the concept of dimensions is a human invention. So really, asking whether snakes have emotions is nothing like asking nonsensical questions about "5th dimensions". That one just confused the hell out of me :S

Either way, loving this thread, keep the responses coming.

Again, you can't think past what you know as fact. Well, lets just say we don't know everything as a race. Could there not be more than 3 dimensions? Some of the greatest people in science today are saying that time is now the 4th dimension. If you believe the string theory, we are in as many as 18 dimensions. Now I won't talk to that fact, because it WAY beyond my understanding. I'm just wanting people to see that just because we think we know the facts, doesn't mean we do. We believe the facts as we know them. A new discover will and has in the past many times, changed our definition of a fact. A fact stays a fact until it is proven not to be a fact.

It is okay that you see your world the way you see it. It is a human fault that many of us are doomed to relive every day. However, I don't accept your reality as the only answer.

As for the 5th demension thing, it's what's called a joke. Did you watch the video?

Jim Smith