Do Animals Have Existential Thoughts?

Answer 1

Yes

I say this from the following observations:

1. Animals mourn. elephants, hippos, apes to name a few have all exhibited actions of mourning, which is an awareness of the cessation (and therefore the existence) of life other than that defined by the physical body.

2. Animals recognize themselves in a mirror. Dolphins and apes recognize themselves in the mirror, which is an awareness of personal existence.

3. Animals play. Adult otters and dolphins play. The acts of expending energy and resources on physical pleasure aside from mating or eating are attempts to acheive more than simple survival, but rather a more substantial existance.

Perhaps they don't express existential thoughts outloud, but there are many actions that can only be explained by animals who act toward motives other than physical survival i.e. understanding death, pleasure, and self-awareness.

Answer 2

Sure, I would think existential thoughts would largely comprise the thoughts of non-human animals. Perhaps my understanding is wrong, but I've thought of action of most non-human animals to be based primarily on impulses and the most basic of self-ascribed meanings, rather than of action whose logic has been thought through rationally.

Yikes. Not sure that made any sense now that I read it, which seems to suggest my understanding of the matter is not very good.

Answer 3

It is very doubtful that most people do.
The search for validation and the protection of guts and gonads, aided by the rigid systems established for these purposes, is the common limit.
If existential thought can be considered to be falling out of love with systems based on abstractions of observation, most animals are more existential than most humans.
Jean Paul Paramecium

Answer 4

No. In order for an animals, outside of human animals, to have existential thoughts they would
need to be able to literally think in human verbal languages. That's just for starters; then they would need to know what is existentialism! And considering that it is highly likely most people don't even know the rudiments of existentialism, then, non-human animals would not be able to conceive of something that abstract. Anyway, they don't need to know. Do we? Why?

Answer 5

are Cavemen considered animals? because on the Geico comercial the caveman has an Existential Breakdown

Answer 6

Animals live by instints only... they get learned responses too.. like dogs trained to do lots of things man can not do..

thoughts are the domain of Humans only... and here the turnoil starts...

animals are happy in a way

Answer 7

Probably not, but that puts them ahead of us. Animals are totally with out guile, they just are what they are, they eat when hungry, sleep when tired, & if my dog is jealous she is out with it. Sometimes it can be a refreshing change to all the mind games we intelligent humans play with each other.

Answer 8

We don't even have to ask them, just observe them & know that they do. Excellent answer from freebird, & Generalist, too. I don't believe I could contribute more. So very encouraging when many humans consider them "dumb animals." I'd just like to comment on guru--thought without language is difficult (for humans) to PERCEIVE.

Answer 9

Well first we'd have to assume that animals "think" like a human does. There has been no proof that even the most intelligent animals has the capability to think like a human. While they might be able to solve simple problems and survive, they can't have real and meaningful thoughts.

Answer 10

On this planet, probably not.

But nothing says this is the only planet.

Think planet of the apes and they are angry because of how you treated their kin folks.

So you had better be nice to your Beemer before the Transformers arrive and and spank you for not doing yout oil changes regularly.