What would happen if animals became sentient or intelligent?
- Thread starter Saucycarpdog
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I find it hard to think orcas have passed the mirror test.Katatori-kun said:
But, anyway, I'm pretty sure people would notice. If animals suddenly became sentient, they would act very differently.
Sentient and intelligent animals? Well, there are quite a few animals out there already sentient and intelligent, just not to the same degree as us. Even if another species of animal were to become as sentient and intelligent as us, that doesn't mean they would be capable of doing the same things we do or share the same moral perceptions.
The second a animal makes something close to resembling advance technology, such as a spear it would probably be quarantined ad studied.
No matter how smart you are, the second your 1/64th the size of a threat to a small town we would probably bomb you before you can even say "but I can do math!"
No matter how smart you are, the second your 1/64th the size of a threat to a small town we would probably bomb you before you can even say "but I can do math!"
Maybe sentient isn't the word I want. I mean an animal that seperates itself from its environment and not hardwired to just instinct. They can act with judgement and feel detailed emotions.Katatori-kun said:
Animals ARE sentient, they would be rocks if they werent...though a Golem is a sentient rock.
And they ARE intelligent. To varying degrees, but Ive seen plenty of animals that are smarter than humans...also humans are animals anyways.
But if you mean they became civilized and gained a greater sense of self...it would depend on what animals.
Livestock would probably start to rise up, but be put down, though some farming families may become casualties. Hopefully though, differences could be made. We would ofcourse, have to stop having them as livestock.
If pet type animals, there would be a mix. Some would probably like their position as pets, but others would desire more. Some bad owners might get killed, but they were terrible anyways.
If wild animals...something akin to finding new tribes in Africa or something that dont know civilization.
And they ARE intelligent. To varying degrees, but Ive seen plenty of animals that are smarter than humans...also humans are animals anyways.
But if you mean they became civilized and gained a greater sense of self...it would depend on what animals.
Livestock would probably start to rise up, but be put down, though some farming families may become casualties. Hopefully though, differences could be made. We would ofcourse, have to stop having them as livestock.
If pet type animals, there would be a mix. Some would probably like their position as pets, but others would desire more. Some bad owners might get killed, but they were terrible anyways.
If wild animals...something akin to finding new tribes in Africa or something that dont know civilization.
How the hell did you come up with this after I was thinking about it earlier today?
It would probably be horrific... not even for the unnecessary deaths that would almost definitely happen, but because it would send the world spiraling into a pit of doubt, second-guessing, and confusion.
Alright. All creatures on the planet, big or small, are now as intelligent or almost as intelligent as human beings, right? And they would, potentially (if biologically possible) develop a way to communicate with others, or we would discover a way to communicate with them.
Now everyone must be completely aware of every other living thing (sans flora) at all times. That bug you just stepped on by accident? Murder. That hamburger you're going to eat? Murder. The leather you're about to wear as a belt or put in your pocket as a wallet? Also murder.
I, for one, don't think that this is currently the case (as many vegetarians/vegans might lead you to believe), but if it was the case, it would be chaos. People, adults and children alike, would be stricken with grief by the accidental deaths of sentient insects. We would question whether or not owning animals or using them for milk and eggs (we likely would quickly stop eating meat, which would cause severe shortages of food all over the world) is slavery. Do we pay the animals? Do they consider the food and shelter we give them significant enough to justify this? Or do they want something more?
Also, how will animals represent themselves? Will they have cultures? Will they develop societies of their own? How will they cooperate (or not cooperate) with humanity?
Humanity may be nearing seven billion on the planet, but animals outnumber us significantly.
I think it would be disastrous for a very long time, until all people (human and animal alike) were educated as soon as possible to respect and acknowledge all life. Smaller lifeforms (insects, rodents, etc.) would likely be forced to live in protected areas to make certain they don't get accidentally stepped on or killed.
I think everyone who is trying to say that, "Oh, animals are already intelligent! They already have feelings and individual thought!" isn't quite taking into account the bigger picture. ALL animals. ALL of them. And HUMAN levels of intelligence, or at least close. The change would be noticeable very quickly, or so I would hope.
I hope it never happens. I like eating meat, and I don't want the deaths of thousands of intelligent bug-people on my conscience.
EDIT: Oh, and we'd probably have to find a way for carnivorous animals to stop eating herbivores and the like. Because, you know, equality and all that jazz. People don't eat other people.
It would probably be horrific... not even for the unnecessary deaths that would almost definitely happen, but because it would send the world spiraling into a pit of doubt, second-guessing, and confusion.
Alright. All creatures on the planet, big or small, are now as intelligent or almost as intelligent as human beings, right? And they would, potentially (if biologically possible) develop a way to communicate with others, or we would discover a way to communicate with them.
Now everyone must be completely aware of every other living thing (sans flora) at all times. That bug you just stepped on by accident? Murder. That hamburger you're going to eat? Murder. The leather you're about to wear as a belt or put in your pocket as a wallet? Also murder.
I, for one, don't think that this is currently the case (as many vegetarians/vegans might lead you to believe), but if it was the case, it would be chaos. People, adults and children alike, would be stricken with grief by the accidental deaths of sentient insects. We would question whether or not owning animals or using them for milk and eggs (we likely would quickly stop eating meat, which would cause severe shortages of food all over the world) is slavery. Do we pay the animals? Do they consider the food and shelter we give them significant enough to justify this? Or do they want something more?
Also, how will animals represent themselves? Will they have cultures? Will they develop societies of their own? How will they cooperate (or not cooperate) with humanity?
Humanity may be nearing seven billion on the planet, but animals outnumber us significantly.
I think it would be disastrous for a very long time, until all people (human and animal alike) were educated as soon as possible to respect and acknowledge all life. Smaller lifeforms (insects, rodents, etc.) would likely be forced to live in protected areas to make certain they don't get accidentally stepped on or killed.
I think everyone who is trying to say that, "Oh, animals are already intelligent! They already have feelings and individual thought!" isn't quite taking into account the bigger picture. ALL animals. ALL of them. And HUMAN levels of intelligence, or at least close. The change would be noticeable very quickly, or so I would hope.
I hope it never happens. I like eating meat, and I don't want the deaths of thousands of intelligent bug-people on my conscience.
EDIT: Oh, and we'd probably have to find a way for carnivorous animals to stop eating herbivores and the like. Because, you know, equality and all that jazz. People don't eat other people.
