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the conduit to scientists and specialists that empowers people to protect whales, dolphins and porpoises, their cultures and their homes.
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| archived words from the wise: Professor Marc Bekoff |
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Marc Bekoff is Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society and a former Guggenheim Fellow. In 2000 he was awarded the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society for major long-term contributions to the field of animal behavior. Marc is also regional coordinator for Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program, and is a member of the Ethics Committee of the Jane Goodall Institute. He and Jane co-founded the organization Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: Citizens for Responsible Animal Behavior Studies in 2000. Marc is on the Board of Directors and Advisory and Scientific Review Boards of a number of organisations. |
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| Posted: 2007 November 11 |
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Contact www.literati.net/Bekoff
www.ethologicalethics.org |
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| wise words |
Animal Emotions and Animal Sentience and Why They Matter
Blending 'Science Sense' with Common Sense, Compassion and Heart
Discussions of animal emotions and animal sentience are wonderful for raising difficult and frustrating questions. This chapter is intended to be a nontraditional essay and Marc hopes it will generates kind discussion and not be dismissed.
Marc's essay seeks to put forth some ideas that some might find controversial. Throwing caution to the wind is a good thing to do from time to time. It makes us dig deeply into our minds and hearts to see who we are and what we think about matters at hand. And sometimes we don’t like where we end up, which can be outside of our comfort zones.
Let’s for the moment put differences aside and see what we can do. Let’s engage people who use and abuse animals and try to convince them to change their ways. Let’s be proactive and let’s educate them. Conflict is inevitable but, as Martin Luther King stressed, reconciliation is the necessary complement of
conflict.
The chapter raises a number of issues that are important to consider in discussions of animal emotions and animal sentience. Marc argues for a paradigm shift in how we study animal emotions and animal sentience and what we do with the information we already have, ‘scientific’ and otherwise. It’s about time that the sceptics and naysayers had to ‘prove’ their claims that animals don’t experience emotions or don’t really feel pain, but just act ‘as if’ they do. And until such claims are proven, let’s assume that numerous animals do experience rich emotions and do suffer all sorts of pain.
A note from whales-online.org - This chapter is originally published in Marc’s book Animals Matter and can also be purchased through EarthScan
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Related PDFs
Animal Emotions and Animal Sentience and Why They Matter - Blending Science Sense with Common Sense, Compassion and Heart |
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