Can animal have suicidal thoughts, can they have self doubt, can animals understand time
Like these more complicated emotions
In: Biology
Yes but different. You have to remember that emotions are evolutionary adaptations, no different than evolving claws, horns, lungs etc.
Humans are a social species, it’s really important for us to be able to emote in order to interact and understand one another to facilitate a smooth group dynamic. Shame and embarrassment, for instance, help us navigate the boundaries of a social group. If we do something that our group responds poorly to, the feeling of shame helps us not repeat that behaviour.
A solitary species has little use for shame. Self doubt on the other hand can prevent us from engaging in a potentially harmful course of action without being certain of a positive outcome. Self doubt is a valid emotion whether you are a solitary species or a social one.
Under normal conditions self doubt occurs in new situations where more information is warranted before committing to a course of action, many animals display that behaviour. Just put them in front of a mirror for instance and you can see many animals struggle with how to respond.
Self doubt can also be caused in animals by punishing them for perfectly healthy behaviours. Just look at the way a beaten dog struggles to respond in a healthy manner to seemingly positive events like being offered treats by a stranger. It’s no longer certain that a positive really is a positive.
A big part of the reason we get along so well with dogs (and originally wolves) is that they largely experience the same social and emotional language as us. We’re both used to co-existing with peers in a hierarchical social group where sharing and cooperation is the norm. We understand signals for affection, help, sharing but also understand when a peer tells us to back off and give them some space and we mutually emote those things in ways we actually pick up on.
Obviously there’s vast differences separating us from dogs and wolves but we have enough common ground to co-exist with ease compared to many other animals.
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