[nicoburns]

You have no idea what it's like to be a rat, and no basis by which to make this claim. Given that they are intelligent mammals closely related to humans and with similar brain structures, it seems plausible, even likely, that they experience emotions thst are similar (if not entirely the same) as ours.

Humans are driven by food and reproduction too, but that doesn't mean we don't also experience a wide range of complex emotions.