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Since we can't know much of what's going on inside an animal's brain, can there still be a consensus among zoologists on whether animals feel emotions, display empathy, care, etc.? Or is it disputed? To clarify what I said since commenters asked for clarifications: Of course I don't mean SENSES (touch/vision/taste...) and also I do NOT include humans.

A suggested definition of emotion:

An emotion is a feeling such as happiness, love, fear, anger, or hatred...the part of a person's character that consists of their feelings, as opposed to their thoughts. (Collins Dictionary)

An example of emotion:

No one doubts that dogs know when they are in trouble,” writes de Waal, “but whether they actually feel guilty is a point of debate.” According to a study by Alexandra Horowitz, the canine guilty look—“lowered gaze, ears pressed back, slumped body, averted head, tail rapidly beating between the legs—is . . . not about what they have done but about how their owner reacts. If the owner scolds them, they act extremely guilty. If the owner doesn’t, everything is fine and dandy.” (Greater Good Magazine, University of California, Berkeley)

Empathy:

Empathy is the ability to share another person's feelings and emotions as if they were your own. (Collins Dictionary)

Example of empathy:

Macaques refused to pull a chain that delivered food to themselves if doing so also caused a companion to receive an electric shock.[48][49] This inhibition of hurting another conspecific was more pronounced between familiar than unfamiliar macaques, a finding similar to that of empathy in humans. (Wikipedia: Emotions in animals)

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    $\begingroup$ How do you define "emotion"? $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 16:56
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    $\begingroup$ Define "animals". Humans are animals, as are Japanese Beetles. $\endgroup$
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 21:50
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    $\begingroup$ I very much think my dog likes me. $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 22:56
  • $\begingroup$ @Remi.b - I think my dogs like me, but I can't ever be sure if they're just trying to get along with me, get me to play with them, get me to feed them, get me to entertain them, challenge them, etc. But, I know they get upset with me, may be angry with me, may be having a blast with me, and one in particular does things I think simply because it makes me howl with laughter. $\endgroup$
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 5:07
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    $\begingroup$ It is very typical for a question that is full of semantic issues but is on a "sexy topic" to receive plenty of upvotes and plenty of down votes at the same time (currently 3 upvotes and 3 downvotes). $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 22:48

2 Answers 2

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The answer to the question "Do scientists agree whether animals feel emotions, or display empathy?" is No. However, there are some animals that certainly do not have emotions or empathy (for example animals that have no substantial nervous system, like sponges), and some animals that certainly do have emotions. The only disagreement is in the middle and where to draw the boundaries. In reality, drawing such boundaries is probably not all that productive, coming down to semantic rather than biological argument.

As a citation for the disagreement, see the two answers and the comments here already.

The difficulty in assessing a statement like this is largely one of operational definition: you need to define what an emotion is, and depending on that definition you will get entirely different answers. You will also get different answers depending on your philosophical approach to questions like these and what the essence of experience is. I would also point out that emotion and empathy are vastly different levels of cognitive ability according to typical definitions of the two.

However, I will say that there are a lot of recent findings of higher cognitive abilities in non-human animals than previously thought. Rodents have long been used as generic models of mammalian nervous systems, including emotional processes. Mirror neurons in non-human primates respond to the behaviors and movements of conspecifics, which is an important aspect of both social learning and potentially empathy. Self-recognition is an important aspect of theory of mind, and has been observed in several species of different types. Mourning behaviors have been observed in various animals in response to death of conspecifics. There can be some disagreement of the interpretation of these findings, but I'll include some references here so readers can do some of their own research and find if they are convinced.

Note that these works study particular animal abilities in particular contexts, rather than making blanket judgments about "all animals" or anything like that. This is typically how science works, incrementally based on the results of individual experiments.

References

Gallese, V., & Goldman, A. (1998). Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading. Trends in cognitive sciences, 2(12), 493-501.

Lane, R. D., & Nadel, L. (Eds.). (1999). Cognitive neuroscience of emotion. Oxford University Press.

Mulcahy, N. J., & Call, J. (2006). Apes save tools for future use. Science, 312(5776), 1038-1040.

Plotnik, J. M., De Waal, F. B., & Reiss, D. (2006). Self-recognition in an Asian elephant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(45), 17053-17057.

Prior, H., Schwarz, A., & Güntürkün, O. (2008). Mirror-induced behavior in the magpie (Pica pica): evidence of self-recognition. PLoS biology, 6(8), e202.

Rajala, A. Z., Reininger, K. R., Lancaster, K. M., & Populin, L. C. (2010). Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) do recognize themselves in the mirror: implications for the evolution of self-recognition. PloS one, 5(9), e12865.

Roth, G., & Dicke, U. (2005). Evolution of the brain and intelligence. Trends in cognitive sciences, 9(5), 250-257.

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    $\begingroup$ Good to have an answer that correctly address the several semantic issues behind the question! Good job +1 $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 22:47
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Some animals definitely feel emotions, emotion are the basic workings of the brain, variations in neurotransmitters used to tag experiences and alter behavior. If it has a brain and is capable of learning it probably feels some emotions, even if only pleasure or discomfort because that is how learning affects ("codes") an experience for association.

Not every animal is going feel them all or feel them at all to the same degree. "Animal" covers a very wide group, a sponge is an animal and almost certainly feels no emotions as it lacks a brain or substantial nervous system, on the other hand humans are the group we use to define emotions are are also animals. But exactly which emotion each animal experiences is impossible to say at the moment, we can't even say for certain every human experiences every emotion. And currently discreet definitions for emotions elude us.

As for specific emotions, as far as we can tell every basic emotion humans experience is represented somewhere in the animal kingdom, and most the basic human emotions may be at least common to mammalia. It is extremely unlikely emotions arrose ex nihilo in humans given the similarities in behavior between humans and other animals, especially other primates. Bonobo's for instance even show similar emotional managements skills to humans.

A consensus is a tricky term, emotion in animals has been a taboo subject for a long time, and there are still pockets that assume animals experience no emotions and operate on pure logic like a robot, but this view has never withstood scrutiny. I tired to present the closest thing we have ot a consensus.

Mammalian associative learning has been the most well studied for obvious reasons, but there is no reason to believe it is unique given similarities in behavior with other groups.Yes the brain works like a different engine but emotions is how our difference engine operates, how it codes experiences.

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  • $\begingroup$ Can you please define emotion? Not every animal is going feel them all do you exclude all humans? Can you give an example that, say a dog, can't feel, just to see how far fetch it needs to be? a sponge [..] feels no emotions Individual cells can feel the lack of a nutrient. Isn't that an emotion?! As for specific emotions as far as we can tell every emotion is represented somewhere in the animal kingdom. Do you have a reference for that claim? ... $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 17:27
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    $\begingroup$ why would feeling soil be an emotion? $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 22:20
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    $\begingroup$ defining individual emotions can be tricky the exact number is hotly debated, we have really good information for some and really poor information for others. to answer your specific example a dog definitely feels, pleasure, pain, disgust, anger and fear. Trust and grief are likely as well. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 22:22
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    $\begingroup$ emotions can be instinctual, I mean there are those that think they work off pure logic like a computer program, that animal brains are completely different from ours in that animals do not have qualitative experiences. That a dog does not feel pleasure when it eats or disgust when it smells something foul but that it is acting like a robot executing a program. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 13:19
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    $\begingroup$ This answer needs some sources. As it stands, it flatly asserts that any animal that can learn has emotions, with absolutely nothing to back that statement up. Also, how are you defining "emotion"? You seem to suggest that pain or discomfort is an emotion, which I think most people would disagree with. $\endgroup$
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 15:39