| > I'm sure I was projecting and it was just trying to avoid being eaten, but it seemed way more intelligent than other insects. Really interesting, but I agree it's most likely just a projection. Possibly due to the fact that mantises are the only insect (that I can think of at least) that indicates focus by turning its head toward something? The power of human emotional projection is extremely strong. I had the misfortune of seeing domesticated dogs in great distress (to put it mildly) a few times when I was younger, and one thing I always remember is that while experiencing the distress, the dogs would still make that familiar panting facial expression that most people innately perceive as a dog "smiling" or expressing happiness/joy. As a result I have a very different experience from most people when I observe the behavior of dogs. I haven't seen any behavior in dogs yet that are any indication to me that they're capable of experiencing happiness/joy. I'm somewhat convinced that people's perception of the emotional spectrum of dogs in particular is almost entirely an optimistic human construct. Their behavior patterns and how they appear to experience things actually seems extremely narrow to me, roughly the same as most other animals. I think the one exception to that is that dogs are unique in their tendency to adapt those behaviors in a domestic environment as though dogs and humans were members of the same species. |