Can animals tell right from wrong?

[grahamthomson]

I read this with interest this morning;

www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/5373379/Animals-can-tell-right-from-wrong.html

I mean, I already knew from Disney cartoons, Lassie, Flipper and Skippy that animals could tell right from wrong, but there seems to be some scientific evidence now.

If it was "proved" conclusively that animals could tell right from wrong, would it change how you viewed them in terms of their role in our society (e.g. as pets, workers, drug trial testees, cosmetics testees, clothes, food, and such)?

[Fortmax2020]

Interesting.

I think it probably would change my viewpoint in some ways but I think it is more than just morals maketh the man etc. as not many animals seem to be self-aware either or off a high cognitive intelligence. I already have to make judgements on the use of animals as part of my work so if this sort of thing was conclusively proven I would have to think over things again, but I don't see it changing my current conclusions in a broader sense.

And is there a difference between these sort of natural/hard-wired morals that promote survival in general and a moral code organised and endorsed by a society by its own choice such as our own system of legal laws and regulation? If animals could be shown to be doing the that it would certainly give a lot of pause for thought.

[Gav]

Even if they do have morals, it doesn't stop them being delicious.

Yes, ALL OF THEM.

[blueshift]

I have yet to meet a stupid cat. Also if animals couldn't tell right from wrong they'd be going around stealing all the time!

[Deleted]

A few years ago there was this cat from a few doors down who used to sit on our backyard winding our dog up. Our dog would look through the living room window onto the backyard, see this cat just sitting there and go absolutely mental! Now I come to the question. Was this cat so stupid that it just sat there regularly oblivious that it was annoying our dog or was it so clever that it knew its presence would send our dog berserk but didn't care anyway because it liked to wind up our dog? If it was the latter then this cat knew right from wrong but couldn't give a shit!

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Humans are still unable to agree what's right and what's wrong, so if any animal's figured it out, I think we should hand in our keys and let them steer the ship. Can't make a worse mess of it than we have.

Martin

[dyrl]

I agree with Martin.

Pete

[mewshkin]

There was a particularly fantastic bit in Douglas Adam's generally fantastic "Last Chance To See" in which he opined (upon observing first hand that human's fascination with Gorillas was due to their apparent humanity, and the idea that "if only they could speak") that if we won't listen to each other, why on earth would we listen to anything a Gorilla could tell us?
I suspect that animals could be as smart as you like, we'd still eat them and destroy them, because the reason's for doing so have nothing to do with their qualities. At the most basic level, Tuna are ridiculously tasty, and we're not going to be able to eat them after 2012*. So why are we destroying them?
I also think that most people actually do agree on right and wrong. The fact that "universal" truths seem to pop up across cultural and liguistic barriers again and again, and that we seem to be able to get along with each other pretty easily makes me think that its just not up to 'us' whether right or wrong is right or wrong.

* Thats hyperbole. Mediterranean tuna will be extinct after 2012. There are other populations. They might last til, who knows? 2015?

[dyrl]

So long as Maguro exist - we'll be fine as far as the tuna goes.

Pete

[Kingoji]

Dunno about right or wrong, but I'll tell you this;

Dogs CAN look up.

[mewshkin]

"So long as Maguro exist - we'll be fine as far as the tuna goes."

Pete, I had to look up Maguro, but thats still one of the silliest things you've ever said. Do you actually believe that demands will always be met? Why?