Are humans the only creatures that feel sadness?

Hell no.

Some say that the emotions we ‘observe’ in animals are simply our own projections of our emotions. I do not agree with that. In my experience animals have a wide range of ‘feelings’ that they exhibit.

I think animals also feel sadness…while I don’t think ALL animals do (for example, an amoeba) but more “advanced” creatures like dogs and cats do! how we can prove that, I’m not sure. All we have to go by are personal stories.

My dog whines if my mother and I are driving the car and then my mom gets out of it to go into a store or something. Our dog whines repeatedly and frantically keeps looking out of the window until my mom gets back. Really, there’s no reason for it because I’m there with her, but she much prefers mom to me I guess. :(

NO! tell that to my dog, she hates it when i leave!

my dog used to not eat when we went on trips as a kid.
he was left alone with a friend who would come take care of him but otherwise leave him lonely.

he would totally lose his appetite and he would go WAY nuts when we came home. more crazy than he normally would when we just came home from a day of work for example. his hyper mood would last way longer and he would be way more out of control than normal with his glee at seeing us.

way.

We used to have two dogs. The saddest thing I have ever seen was one of them reacting when the other died.

We are the only species that cry from emotional pain, but other animals do have feelings.

Nope.

When I was younger I used to like to rip the bark off the redwood trees when we were camping. When I saw the sap dripping underneath my dad would tell me they were crying because I had hurt them and they were sad. I think he just didn’t want me ripping the bark off the trees. But who knows.

I don’t think so. In the documentary People of the Forest that tracks Jane Goodall’s work with the chimps of Gombe, a little chimp loses his mother. The little guy is devastated, climbs to the top of a tree and dies of a broken heart. It is such a sad scene.

We feel human sadness.

@SuperMouse and when the chimp loses her pet kitten :( so heartbreaking

I’ve seen dogs, on several occaisions, exhibiting behaviour that mimics what humans display when experiencing sadness, so I’m gonna have to say, yes!

@xxporkxsodaxx – my dad’s akita cried real tears when my dad died, he threw his head back and howled and tears ran from his eyes. He had been sleeping beside my dad’s bed and suddenly jumped up and put his head on my dad’s hand. A few moments later when my dad stopped breathing that is when the dog started to howl. Of course akitas are exceptional animals, I think the most intelligent and intuitive dog there is. Not easily trainable because they are too smart.

After my dad died in January, one of the dogs wouldn’t leave his side of the bed. We had to pick her up and take her outside. We did all we could to help her drink, too. She was completely silent for days. On the day she finally started making sounds, all she did was whine.

Animals feel things and have emotions.

Absolutely not! Domestic (at least) animals have feelings.

@cak and @rooeytoo your stories made me tear up. Thank you for sharing.

I believe animals have feelings as well. Why wouldn’t they??
I was just at the SPCA, and there were a lot of “owner turnovers” the dogs looked so, so sad :(

When my beautiful Akita named Ally passed away it took about 5 days until my Westie -Casper, sat next to me and howled and cried for at least 10 min or more. I think it was that moment he realized Ally was not coming home again. I think he was just waiting for her.
I think all animals definately have feelings.

@cak I’m sorry for your loss. Your story is amazing. I think that dogs really are man’s best friend. It is heartwarming to hear of that kind of loyalty.

@alossforwords thank you.

Elephants mourn their dead.

@alossforwords @Qingu

Elephants do actually mourn their dead. They will bury their dead sometimes under brush. Sometimes they will carry their dead for miles. They also secrete something like tears when they are mourning. They can recognize their dead as well. If you watch them on a documentary or see pictures it is quite obvious they are feeling sadness.

Also I think we have all seen domestic animals exhibit sadness.

Seems as if this is a universal trait, human or otherwise.

I think my friends parrot was after he drenched it with a spray bottle to shut the damn thing up, then threw a sheet over its cage and said good night.

@Garebo Sounds like your friend needs to give the parrot a more loving home.

That’s true, but it’s too late, it (she?) is probably dead now- it was from along time ago. I don’t care how much of a pet lover you are, you would be inclined to do the same. It still was well taken care of and loved, probably, -too loved.

@Garebo I’ve had parrots (lovebirds) and a cockatiel. The lovebirds made the UGLIEST sound I have ever heard. But I NEVER treated them that poorly. And after two years when I couldn’t take it no more I gave them to a very loving elderly gentleman who was a bird lover and understood about the noise. I certainly would not be inclined to do the same as shown by my experience.

Maybe under the circumstances you would have. I wasn’t comfortable with his actions; it was his pretty bird, not mine. I was just thankful I could finally hear again. Don’t worry, he got to go upstairs, and be happy the next day and hang out with us.

When I was growing up, we had a lab named Bear. She had puppies and we kept one as a companion for Bear, and his name was Bobo (I know). We lived out in the country next to some people who owned horses. One day, Bobo was kicked by a horse trying to play with it, and a while later he layed down in the front yard and died. It may have been longer, I’m not sure. My dad was the one who had to take Bobo away and bury him. Bear watched my dad load her dead baby he was full grown, but still her baby into the back of his truck and drive away with him. She had to have made the connection between Bobo’s death and my dad because she wouldn’t come near him for months. She would literally walk huge circles around him if he was out in the yard. It was crazy. So yeah, I guess they do have emotions.

Elephants, upon discovering the carcass of a relative, seem to experience “grieving” behaviours.

Crocodiles shed tears.
Oh, probably not because they are sad.

But still, no.

@fireside I’ve heard that, too, but it’s not to do with emotion…I also forget why though…

I had an ant farm when I was young and whenever ants would die the other ants would take the little corpses and pile them in one area of the tunnels—kind of like a graveyard—kind of like a burial service—kind of like grieving—kind of like showing emotions…ants: who knew.

@aviona That is good information, i never heard that one before :) It’ll be useful to me for a project i’m working on.

@aviona It was my understanding that ants behave this way in sort of a ‘quarantine’ protocol. Could be wrong though…

But in answer to the question, I think humans are the only creatures on Earth that experience the actual emotion of sadness in the true depths we understand.

I don’t believe animals, while they may exhibit signs of disappointment or otherwise seem to be upset, ever experience the emotion we consider to be ‘sadness’.

@gambitking Do you think all humans then experience sadness the same way, i.e. someone in Africa versus someone in America?? had this question in a psych class, it was an interesting conversation with no right answer because there is no way of knowing the subjective experience of each person

I think animals definitely feel sadness. I saw a kitten seperated from all its brothers and sisters curl up into a little ball and cry. Thats proof enough for me. I think theres a quote. I can’t remember who said it, “Human beings are the only animals that blush.” I like that.

@RedPowerLady People from different cultures, time periods, and countries have the same basic dreams. I learned that in psychology when i was younger… thought it would be interesting to impart. I think what we see and interact with just floats on the surface of our consciousness. The meaning of things, the “deeper” emotions are buried more in the subconscious. I think every human is unique, so I should say that it’s experienced differently by everyone with only a small common thread.

@alossforwords I think it is experienced differently as well, especially per culture, but even moreso per individual. I also think animals experience emotions. I guess what I was getting at in terms of this discussion is that if we can believe that humans experience saddness in different ways then we can’t judge how animals experience sadness as less than the human experience. All different but equal. That is an interesting bit of information about the dreams. I think there are some parts of human existence that are universal, thus the common dreams, but they are experienced differently. I like your thoughts about consciousness. Do you then believe in the stream of consciousness?

@RedPowerLady As a narrative technique, yes. As a matter of fact, I’ve used it many times in my writing. As pertaining to each individual having a constant flow of internal dialogue that can be tapped into, I have been treading in it since birth. The voice in my head never stops or sleeps. I like what it says though. Sometimes it’s the only intelligent, uncompromising thing in a room, especially when I act against it.

@alossforwords And what about tapping into the greater stream of consciousness. The one flowing around all of us. Do you believe in that? Or do you only tap into your own stream?

@RedPowerLady
I try to empathize (which I believe is a solely human ability) with everyone if that counts. Why not. It’s all biochemical electricity. Do we not “feel” a person when they stare or walk into a room? I think some people sense that stream and react to it. I’m just not sure whether or not to define that as The Great Stream. It certainly makes the children’s song Row Your Boat seem like a work of genius.

@alossforwords Do you think some people are more sensitive to the collective consciousness than others?

@essieness Of course. Some people are content to shut out the world, to be overwhelmed by their little shelter. Some of us can’t sleep at night because we are turning other people’s thoughts over and over in our heads.

Cleverly Plus… everything is connected as you can see.

@alossforwords I am definitely in the group of the sensitive ones. I am much more perceptive than most people realize… ;)

@alossforwords Thanx for the conversation. I’ll have to think on the empathize point myself. I have never thought about whether I believe animals have that ability. I am a believer of the BIG stream of consciousness. But I also believe that our energy is more than just a chemical thing. :)

@essieness Me as well. Energy of others affects me As well as energy of insentient things such as certain locations.

@RedPowerLady Yes, I feel that as well. Sometimes I am overly empathic.

@essieness On locations: For example when I went to a former concentration camp, the energy there was so down and sad. I want to go to Wounded Knee (it is a sight of a massacre AND a powerful resistance) because I know the energy there will be strong and it is where my people are from. I want to experience that and honor it even though I know it’ll be heavy.

I am more and more careful not to let the negative or “bad” energy of others affect me. I really enjoy being empathetic though, it has helped my view on life tremendously. It’s a fine line I suppose.

@RedPowerLady I also enjoy being empathic, but like you, I have to work not to let others’ negative emotions affect me. I have the innate ability to know when something is wrong with someone and I have to make myself let it be when they don’t want to talk about it or want to pretend everything is ok. If that makes sense. With individuals, it’s somewhat easier, but when something big happens, I lose it (i.e., Katrina, 9/11). I know this is because the energy of many is much stronger and pervasive than the energy of one or two. However, understanding the phenomenon intellectually does not help me fight my emotions in the situation! It’s a learning process. The art of empathy without complete emotional involvement can be tough.

@essieness Makes perfect sense. In fact there is one person in my life right now, a buddy of my hubby who just radiates the need for help but I have to learn to not but in when i’m not asked to. I understand what you mean about the dissonance between cognition and emotion. About the big events. One thing that helps me is something I heard someone say once. It was after one nasty big event (can’t remember which). It was at a completely unrrelated event and the women goes up to speak. All the audience is outside and it starts to rain. And she says something to this effect “i’m glad it is raining right now, after all that has happened our Earth needs a good cleansing”. And that made deep sense to me. So now when it rains I think of it as the Earth cleaning itself off of all that negative energy, especially helpful after big traumatic worldly events.

I think animals have there own little personalities and emotions just like we do. I just got back from a short trip and I was told my dogs were very sad and depressed the entire weekend. They didn’t want to play and they just kept looking out the window. One of them hardly even ate! I really do think that animals feel just the way humans do. They get sad, happy, scared.. they’re just beautiful creatures which is why a lot of us have them as companions.

No animal has a limbic system in its brain comparable to human beings. Animals can have the feeling of sadness. Some are capable of mourning. But no animal shows true empathy the way humans do.

Yes, or should I say they do not feel it the same way we do.

It is the I think, therefore I am, thing.

We tend to put humanism onto the creatures we love.

You must never have known an akita. They show empathy and definitely grieve. Most amazing creatures on this earth.

That is just projecting your humanism on the dog.
Hey, I love my Dog. He “loves” me but ya know what. I give him to the neighbor.
He wont miss me. He might be a bit disoriented being in a new environment but other then that as long as he has food, water and some doggie snacks.
Out of sight, out of mind.

Now I might be heart broken and I might want to to believe he is too. But that is a human response. He is just hungry, tired, or wants to play.

You must never have known an akita!