And what if cows, birds and fish have emotions too?

Not sure if I should let Coco see this:

Dogs Are People, Too

And that’s just the headline. The author is serious:

Although we are just beginning to answer basic questions about the canine brain, we cannot ignore the striking similarity between dogs and humans in both the structure and function of a key brain region: the caudate nucleus.

Rich in dopamine receptors, the caudate sits between the brainstem and the cortex. In humans, the caudate plays a key role in the anticipation of things we enjoy, like food, love and money. But can we flip this association around and infer what a person is thinking just by measuring caudate activity? Because of the overwhelming complexity of how different parts of the brain are connected to one another, it is not usually possible to pin a single cognitive function or emotion to a single brain region.

But the caudate may be an exception. Specific parts of the caudate stand out for their consistent activation to many things that humans enjoy. Caudate activation is so consistent that under the right circumstances, it can predict our preferences for food, music and even beauty.

In dogs, we found that activity in the caudate increased in response to hand signals indicating food. The caudate also activated to the smells of familiar humans. And in preliminary tests, it activated to the return of an owner who had momentarily stepped out of view. Do these findings prove that dogs love us? Not quite. But many of the same things that activate the human caudate, which are associated with positive emotions, also activate the dog caudate. Neuroscientists call this a functional homology, and it may be an indication of canine emotions.

The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child. And this ability suggests a rethinking of how we treat dogs.

Of course dogs have emotions. Anyone who has ever owned a dog knows that. Whether having emotions makes a dog the equivalent of a human (child or not) is highly debatable. But the author seems to think it is beyond debate. According to this thinking, because dogs have emotions, humans have no right to own them:

…by using the M.R.I. to push away the limitations of behaviorism, we can no longer hide from the evidence. Dogs, and probably many other animals (especially our closest primate relatives), seem to have emotions just like us. And this means we must reconsider their treatment as property.

Dogs are already more than property, so that statement is a bit misleading. Cruelty to dogs is illegal, and has been for years. The word “cruelty” implies that a dog is more than mere property, which means that you cannot take a utility knife and cut your dog into pieces and stuff it in the trash the way you might an old suitcase.

But the sentient, emotional qualities dogs possess does not make them persons as the authors insist:

If we went a step further and granted dogs rights of personhood, they would be afforded additional protection against exploitation. Puppy mills, laboratory dogs and dog racing would be banned for violating the basic right of self-determination of a person.

Self determination? Really? What if a dog wants to engage in racing? Many humans do. Suppose MRI scans of racing dogs revealed that they wanted nothing more than to race, that coonhounds wanted nothing more than to hunt raccoons? Who are we to stand in the way of their desires?

And of course, if there is to be such a thing as self-determination for dogs, surely we should not be allowed to interfere with their reproductive rights!

The author concludes by making a case for neuroscience in the courtroom:

I suspect that society is many years away from considering dogs as persons. However, recent rulings by the Supreme Court have included neuroscientific findings that open the door to such a possibility. In two cases, the court ruled that juvenile offenders could not be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. As part of the rulings, the court cited brain-imaging evidence that the human brain was not mature in adolescence. Although this case has nothing to do with dog sentience, the justices opened the door for neuroscience in the courtroom.

If so, it sounds like a dangerous door to open.

Especially if it leads to neurolaw.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

5 responses to “And what if cows, birds and fish have emotions too?”

  1. Veeshir Avatar

    You see, people and dogs gain much from their mutual association and I’d bet this idiot hates happiness.

    It’s easy to play “Spot the Puritan”, just not so easy as when they mostly focused on sex.

  2. bob sykes Avatar
    bob sykes

    It is probable that all mammals, birds and some reptiles have emotions because they are useful to survival. Some or even most mammals may also have some sort of consciousness, although self-awareness is likely limited to some of the great apes and actual language to humans.

  3. MJH Avatar
    MJH

    Once it can be shown that dogs exhibit a strong emotional preference to vote Democrat, the Science will be settled and the fix will be in.

  4. RickC Avatar
    RickC

    MJH, Didn’t I read an article a couple of years back where a guy actually was able to register his dog to vote? I believe he did it to prove how ludicrously easy voter fraud was to pull off. But maybe he was just ahead of the curve?

  5. […] And what if cows, birds and fish have emotions too? […]