Do animals have conscience?

Question

somthing thats always been playing on my mind...

Answer 1

Yes. We are learning of more and more animals that are self-aware (cats, dogs, dolphins, many birds, most primates) and almost all animals have a behavior pattern that is programmed into them.

While an animal may not necessarily be able to tell right from wrong, they know that certain behaviors will result in punishment of some variety, whether it be social ostracization or just a smack on the muzzle from Ma or Pa Lion.

Animals tend to behave in ways that best benefit (or will least detriment) their own group/troop/whatever. That's what makes up their conscience.

Answer 2

Some may. Conscience is a result of moral training during childhood- in other words, you have to have an awareness of right and wrong in order to have a conscience. Most animals probably don't have that awareness, but dogs cats and other animals kept as pets learn some measure of dos and don't when we train them. I have seen dogs act guilty when they have done something they weren't supposed to, so maybe they have some conscience.

Answer 3

Probably not, since they go by instinct and don't reason. Conscience is due to a reasoning of something being good or bad. So, I feel only humans have conscience and not animals. But they certainly have emotions.

Answer 4

Some animals, the ones with an upper cerebral cortex call milia, depending on the size of this part of the brain. Animals such as primates are able to demonstrate conscience, that contributes to the higher level of thinking.

Answer 5

Yes they do I have 2 greyhounds and if they do anything wrong
you can tell by there eyes so yes animals do have a conscience

Answer 6

Many experimental studies with non-human species of social mammals show that most have evolved a sense of "fairness." Such a sense would be important in the maintenance of social relationships, in rewarding altruistic behavior and punishing "cheaters." It is thought that the human sense of morality grew out of this sense of "fairness" that we share with other social mammalian species.

Answer 7

Yes they do,

when a dog has done something bad (e.g. crapped on the carpet) whilst you are out, you come in and they cower away because they know they have done something wrong.

I don't think they have a natural sense of what's right or wrong though, that's why they are trained (e.g. to NOT crap on the carpet).

Answer 8

yes they have brains and feelings just like humans., they need to make decisions, and when our conscience kicks in is when we have a hard decision, animals have hard decisions too.


-nerak

Answer 9

No, they are not self aware.

You shouldn't apply human feelings to animals. It doesn't work like that. For a start the points of reference would be vastly different.

What's good to you might be bad to a dog, but good to a hamster but good to a whale.

And animals do murder, cats are well known for it.

Answer 10

Yes my cat Percy looks nervous and guilty when he has poo'd somewhere he shouldn't have. My cat Prudence sits on my lap and kisses my hand when she sees that I am feeling down.