I think my snake loves me

[littleindiangirl]

Humans are animals, too. We have lots of instincts - protect self and family, procreate, etc. I agree with Venom.

Look up the definition for instinct, which I feel is very thorough. Protecting ones self is not labelled an instinct, considering many people can easily over come this drive*hint*, look at the multitudes of people that hurt themselves daily on purpose or their family.

Procreating is also considered a drive.

Again, look up the definitions and classifications of instinct. These are terms that are taught in grade school all the way up to college. Well, at least I was...

[_Venom_]

It can also be called instinct.
It's debatable.

[8Ball]

Who's to say that snakes are not sentient beings? I've heard many people say that snakes feel fear, or they feel safe, or they feel stress. Why not feel love then? Some are saying that they may have feelings but not complex enough to be called love. Yet no one can even seem to agree on an absolute definition of love. Everyones individual life experiences of love are different so our definitions of love will be slightly different. At the very least you can say that no one can read a snakes mind so it seems kind of ridiculous to say that they "absolutely" can or can not love. I don't know if my snake loves me but he seems comfortable around. My question is this; 'Why is it so offensive to some that others think their snakes may love them.'?

[Typical_08]

Who's to say that snakes are not sentient beings?

You may be confusing sentience with sapience.

Sentience is the ability to feel or perceive subjectively. (note: feel or preceive does not mean emotion)

Sapience is the ability of an organism or entity to act with appropriate judgment.

They sound similar, but they are very different.

Sentience. If I go near that animal, it will eat me.

Sapience, if I go near that animal it will try to eat me, it will go for my thoat first, so I have to protect that. I can pick up that heavy stick and use it as a club. Then hit it over the head until it stops moving, and then I can eat it.

Additionally. Emotions are nothing more than chemical impulses in the brain. We have them, some other animals have them, snakes do not. Their brains are not capable of replicating these chemical impulses.

[littleindiangirl]

It can also be called instinct.
It's debatable.

Where could it be debated?

Have you taken my advice to look up instinct, and also reflex to see how they relate (or don't) to each other?

[_Venom_]

Yeah, I did.
I also looked up "do humans have instinct" and it was debatable as I said.

Reflex and instinct definitions share parts of each other too.

[MelissaFlipski]

...look at the multitudes of people that hurt themselves daily on purpose or their family.

Those people do that due to psychological imbalances - therefore are not the norm.

To me, drive = instinct. People over come their drives because they are rational beings, not because they don't have instincts.

[blackcrystal22]

Yeah, I did.
I also looked up "do humans have instinct" and it was debatable as I said.

Reflex and instinct definitions share parts of each other too.

Are we debating if humans have instinct? Because there are facts to support that they do, not many, but they are there. Humans eat and reproduce naturally, even if they had little human contact, what would you call that?
Survival instincts. ;]

In psychology, we learned that instincts and reflexes are both natural and begin at birth. However, reflexes are only reactions to some type of action. Instincts are actions in themselves without having an action to feed or naturally cause them.

[Typical_08]

To me, drive = instinct. People over come their drives because they are rational beings, not because they don't have instincts.

Please explain to me why a man would jump on a grenade to save his buddies when he has a wife and child waiting for him at home then. Drive in the human equation does not equal instinct.

Additionally, given the answer you give, how does this relate to snakes being sapient or having emotions? Will a snake give itself so another snake of another bloodline can return to care for their young?

[JamieLynn]

I feel just because an animal (any animal even a snake) is not human it does not mean they do have feelings. Do your cats and dogs love you? if any animal can feel they all can.
But trying to give human traits to an animal gets complicated. (after all it is we that do not know what we are, we are animals)