Can an animal REALLY be happy?

[Humble Warrior]

I mean happy to what we consider happiness?

I know dogs and cats can seem closest to happy, but what of other creatures?

Like snakes?

You keep it in a small Vivarium, then finally get round to sticking it in a huge vivarium done up to be like the real environment. Is it happy? It seems exactly the same as before: neither happy nor unhappy.

Is a wild animal happy in its environment. Or is just not unhappy?

Does happy even really apply to animals. Isn`t this just a Human thing?

Discuss.

[Visna]

I mean happy to what we consider happiness?

I know dogs and cats can seem closest to happy, but what of other creatures?

Like snakes?

You keep it in a small Vivarium, then finally get round to sticking it in a huge vivarium done up to be like the real environment. Is it happy? It seems exactly the same as before: neither happy nor unhappy.

Is a wild animal happy in its environment. Or is just not unhappy?

Does happy even really apply to animals. Isn`t this just a Human thing?

Discuss.

Depends on what animals you talk about. Reptiles for example are almost entirely instinct driven, not to mention it would be difficult for both us and them to find a common ground where we could understand each other, while the great apes feel and can display a wide range of emotions including happiness.

[Humble Warrior]

Depends on what animals you talk about. Reptiles for example are almost entirely instinct driven, not to mention it would be difficult for both us and them to find a common ground where we could understand each other, while the great apes feel and can display a wide range of emotions including happiness.

But say you stick a knife in a reptile, then it is unhappy. Or is it?

Is a creature in a trap unhappy? Does a bear or wolf in a trap think unhappy? I don`t think they do. They whine in pain, yes. They want to get away and stop the pain, of course, but I don`t think they think `unhappy` like we do. They certainly don`t think, `Oh typical just my bad luck, why me? `

They just deal with it.

And when something really good happens, they don`t think, "Wow, a great day! I`m really happy!" They just grab their extra food and go hide it until next time. I don`t think animals waste any thought or feelings on `happy` or unhappy`, even monkeys.

I`m really trying to look at this from the unsugar-coated point of view that some people `humanise` animals with.

[Visna]

But say you stick a knife in a reptile, then it is unhappy. Or is it?

Is a creature in a trap unhappy? Does a bear or wolf in a trap think unhappy? I don`t think they do. They whine in pain, yes. They want to get away and stop the pain, of course, but I don`t think they think `unhappy` like we do. They certainly don`t think, `Oh typical just my bad luck, why me? `

They just deal with it.

And when something really good happens, they don`t think, "Wow, a great day! I`m really happy!" They just grab their extra food and go hide it until next time. I don`t think animals waste any thought or feelings on `happy` or unhappy`, even monkeys.

I`m really trying to look at this from the unsugar-coated point of view that some people `humanise` animals with.

Chimps and gorillas who have been taught sign language have shown that they have an understanding of the concept of "happy" and other such complex emotions. That's not a matter of sugar coating or humanising, that's a demonstrable fact. They've evolved intellectually and physically to suit their needs in their environments, not our needs in our environment. That makes a direct comparison of something like complex emotions or intelligence using only human standards silly. But in the context of what serves chimps and gorillas, they do indeed have complex emotions and intelligence. They display compassion, sadness, anger, jealousy, happiness, depression etc.

[Humble Warrior]

Chimps and gorillas who have been taught sign language have shown that they have an understanding of the concept of "happy" and other such complex emotions. That's not a matter of sugar coating or humanising, that's a demonstrable fact. They've evolved intellectually and physically to suit their needs in their environments, not our needs in our environment. That makes a direct comparison of something like complex emotions or intelligence using only human standards silly. But in the context of what serves chimps and gorillas, they do indeed have complex emotions and intelligence. They display compassion, sadness, anger, jealousy, happiness, depression etc.

Alright, I`ll take your word for it.

So if we go to other animals, especially reptiles, we can safely say that their concept of happiness and sadness is non-existent?

[Visna]

Alright, I`ll take your word for it.

So if we go to other animals, especially reptiles, we can safely say that their concept of happiness and sadness is non-existent?

Reptiles are almost exclusively instinct driven. And even if they did have large complex brains, like the great apes, we would have big problems understanding each other. It's much easier to teach sign language for example to an intelligent chimp than to a hypothetical intelligent snake, crocodile or komodo dragon.

[The Roman Republic]

well they are less intelligent than humans so you can't really compare the reactions a human has in a situation with another species, plus the species can vary for example, a boardacolie (however you spell it) who is far intelligant than lets say a bulldog, so would that mean that the broadacolie with the more intelligance can react to certain things differently?. I don't know, I guess the only way logical is looking at different species brain activity when it does or sees something, that or we find a talking animal

[conon394]

Is a wild animal happy in its environment. Or is just not unhappy?

Does happy even really apply to animals. Isn`t this just a Human thing?

I dunno my Mustang looks really happy after she races grain trucks or gets the local girl's track team to stop and give her a good scratch, she seemed quite satisfied after confronting the escaped bull that roamed down into her pasture - she also seems to enjoy sneaking up on me when I lock my chickens up because she waits quietly in the dark and than thumps me on the back with her nose after which she goes on a rather wild gallop around the pasture (and my exclamation of surprise and jumping - she is quite clever and steps very carefully into the barn so as not to make noise). Is she truly conscious most of the time probably not but in the moment and around it I think she clearly is enjoying herself and her life and she can look forward to those things since she had learned to anticipate the time of them.

I mean I think obviously many living creatures have fairly simple brains and perhaps they cannot be 'happy' but I think it realivly clear that most mammals some birds and a some other creatures are able to be happy, or unhappy even if not likely continuously self aware.

[John ''True Grit'' Wayne]

Humans are animals and we can be happy.

[ElvenKind]

I know my cat is happy when I take him out for a walk, we live in a 2nd floor flat, and he is always miau miau in front of flat`s door when he wants to go out. After he eats some grass, scratches his back here and there, catches a bug or just snifes around, he comes home and is totaly like a new fresh and NICER cat, no more miau miau in front of the doors, til next day ofcourse, and I think he shows his happiness that way. And saying thanks for taking him out( or he will in our shoes).

[Vizsla]

I doubt non-mammals can because they do not have the necessary brain capacity. Intelligent birds maybe.
Animals in their natural environment are mostly concerned with eating and not getting et. It’s hard to say for sure if those animals are happy, probably not.
Animals that are candidates for happiness would have all their needs looked after, like pets.

Un-provable but...the more time I spend with dogs the more I become convinced that they feel everything humans feel. The way I see it humans are animals with a thin patina of intelligence layered on top. Human actions are motivated by the same things that motivate animals. The difference is we have the capacity to put into words what we are feeling and to deceive ourselves about our true motivations. Animals are more honest. So there is no difference between an animal displaying all the symptoms of happiness and actually being happy. They do not have the capacity to deceive themselves or others.

[Visna]

They do not have the capacity to deceive themselves or others.

Chimps often deceive both their human caretakers and each other. The difference lies more in the fact that we know, or, more accurately, learn, that the deceit is anti social or morally wrong. (Or at least we should). And it's difficult to prove experimentally if they dislike being deceived. That is, is it the action they were deceived about that piss them off, or is it the deception itself.
I think being an intelligent social animal necessitates some kind of complex emotions.

[Humble Warrior]

Chimps often deceive both their human caretakers and each other. The difference lies more in the fact that we know, or, more accurately, learn, that the deceit is anti social or morally wrong. (Or at least we should). And it's difficult to prove experimentally if they dislike being deceived. That is, is it the action they were deceived about that piss them off, or is it the deception itself.
I think being an intelligent social animal necessitates some kind of complex emotions.

Interesting. But like with some Humans, does a deceived chimp understand it`s been deceived to dislike it, or just thinks maybe it was just a random thing?

Like I said, humans can be deceived and have no idea, sometimes not even when it`s blatantly in their face.

Obviously, needs study.

As for the other answers, good stuff. We had a family cat and sure, as a kid I saw it as happy, etc. But thinking about it, it just seemed more like it was `pleased` or not unhappy. It`s not unhappy at catching a mouse, not unhappy at sleeping infront of a warm fire, etc.

Still it`s a far cry from a reptile like snake, even though sometimes, it almost seems like they can be happy\unhappy.

[Visna]

Interesting. But like with some Humans, does a deceived chimp understand it`s been deceived to dislike it, or just thinks maybe it was just a random thing?

Like I said, humans can be deceived and have no idea, sometimes not even when it`s blatantly in their face.

Obviously, needs study.

Didn't your parents sometimes, or just once, go "I get mad when you do X, but even worse is the fact that lied to me about it!" (or something to that effect). That's more or less how we learn that deception is socially unacceptable. It's incredibly difficult to prove either way that chimps are capeable or even just interested in making that distinction. They just get mad. And you do not want to disturb a chimp in a fit of rage with philosophical questions. And while they understand past tense, but they can't accurately describe how they felt about something as complex as deception which happened X hours ago for example. Or at least no experimental proof exists so far.

[SLN445]

Depends what we are defining happy as?

[Aanker]

I think elephants, cetaceans and primates have shown more complex emotion. Elephants, for instance, have burial rituals and use their trunks to touch the bones of long dead elephants. They also have a sense of humour, apparently.

It's not unimaginable to think that complex emotions bring their own evolutional advantages, particularly for social animals, so convergent evolution would thus be the natural result.

Read the "death ritual" segment:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleph...ence#section_5

[mrmouth]

Elephants also exhibit deep depression over a loss in a hurd. Interestingly enough that is amplified when the loss is violent in nature, as with a poacher. Sometimes they just die themselves. Stop eating or actually bludgeon themselves to death on trees.

All of that would certainly suggest complex emotion.

[Ludicus]

Isn`t this just a Human thing?

Take a look,
The touching moment

[General Sultan V]

Yes, An Animal can be happy and can show the symptoms of happiness/otherwise. animals should not be under-regarded "Because they are not human biengs". animals can feel pain, happiness, sorrow, all of that. too, take a hawk for example. can you basically capture a hawk and raise it in captivity? No, it dies, hawks intentionally suicide if they are locked or depressed. I Have 6 budgies and a kitten myself, I Never lock the budgies inside their cage anymore after seeing how quite they become inside it unlike the singing and chirping and flying around that I Hear and see when they are outside, so yes, the answer is Yes, Animals CAN feel and be happy

[Morbius Sire]

I mean happy to what we consider happiness?

I know dogs and cats can seem closest to happy, but what of other creatures?

Like snakes?

You keep it in a small Vivarium, then finally get round to sticking it in a huge vivarium done up to be like the real environment. Is it happy? It seems exactly the same as before: neither happy nor unhappy.

Is a wild animal happy in its environment. Or is just not unhappy?

Does happy even really apply to animals. Isn`t this just a Human thing?

Discuss.

Yes, Animals does feel happiness and sadness. Obviously, it would depend on which animal we're talking about.
They have even showed some level of morality and empathy in their actions, and some villainy or free loading
I suggest watching this video [1]
It shows these behaviours in animals, including chimps, elephants, and monkeys.
Watch the end, its even shows jealousy when it comes to specific types of food.

As well, this documentary by the BBC explores the same concept: [2 Part 1] [2 Part 2]
There are five parts to it, but I've linked the first two parts in here.

So to answer your question: not it isn't just with humans. Animals are capable of feeling many of the things we feel. From happiness, sadness to jealousy. Hell, the Bonobo Chimps are known to solve almost everything with sex [3]

I may add that I love monkeys and apes.