The behavioural cue of ‘flexible self-protection’ is a way to establish whether an animal feels pain, scientists say

Crickets that received the hot probe “overwhelmingly” directed their attention to the affected antenna – they groomed it more frequently, and tended to it over a longer period of time, he says. “They weren’t just agitated and flustered. They were directing their attention to the actual antennae that was hit with this hot probe.”

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[–] -2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

"Feel" is something that requires consciousness and a sense of awareness that the pain being experienced is self-related. Consciousness requires complex systems and a nervous system which insects do not possess. Whilst reactive and reflexive actions are performed, whether they experience pain as a personal subjective phenomenon is something that isn't tested. Reaction isn't a proxy to consciousness.

Would a bacteria "feel" pain because it reacts to the environment?

I say this as someone that has almost a Buddhist approach to respecting living creatures. However, the science of consciousness and a physicalist approach inform my views.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago (1 child)

    You really, really don't want to bring consciousness theory to what is essentially a phenomenology fight.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    Trying to bring the difference between nocioception, experience of pain and having a subjective experience of pain. Different physical and emotional phenomena.

    Does a crab look like it's feeling pain when it yanks one of its claws out? Mostly seems unphased and it has a far more complex biology than an insect.

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