So, this conversation goes on back and forth on the boards from time to time. I though I would post this up before studying all night for biology final.
Fish have memory-how would that goldfish have learned the tricks that it did and why would fish beg for food? How would pecking orders be established and fish remember being beaten up by another, or remember where their territory is? I've heard one person state that fish cannot see out of the glass that far-I tested this once with a particularly aggressive betta, for instance. He would flare up when my finger came too close, and he stopped flaring at about a foot away. This was in a plastic tank, which has the worst clarity, and it is also possible he stopped because my finger was a comfortable distance away. Yes, he frequently threatened me when I was sitting at my desk. I believe there are also scientific studies based on the memory of fish recently.
Here is a link to the university of indiana on a faq about fish memory:
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/fishmemory.html
I know there were scientific studies and later I will post them up.
So basically fish have receptors which pick up when the fish is damaged and in danger and these are transmitted to their brain where it creates a chemical reaction. This is what happens in all brains! Some technicalities are different, but pain has nothing to do with intelligence and emotion has nothing to do with intelligence. To say whether they feel the pain humans feel or not is a moot point, as that is simply metaphysical speculation.
Here is some research from the Royal Society of England:
http://royalsociety.org/news.asp?year=&id=1697
An interesting point is that "Fish" is a huge group with many variations in it.
Fish have memory-how would that goldfish have learned the tricks that it did and why would fish beg for food? How would pecking orders be established and fish remember being beaten up by another, or remember where their territory is? I've heard one person state that fish cannot see out of the glass that far-I tested this once with a particularly aggressive betta, for instance. He would flare up when my finger came too close, and he stopped flaring at about a foot away. This was in a plastic tank, which has the worst clarity, and it is also possible he stopped because my finger was a comfortable distance away. Yes, he frequently threatened me when I was sitting at my desk. I believe there are also scientific studies based on the memory of fish recently.
Here is a link to the university of indiana on a faq about fish memory:
http://amos.indiana.edu/library/scripts/fishmemory.html
I know there were scientific studies and later I will post them up.
So basically fish have receptors which pick up when the fish is damaged and in danger and these are transmitted to their brain where it creates a chemical reaction. This is what happens in all brains! Some technicalities are different, but pain has nothing to do with intelligence and emotion has nothing to do with intelligence. To say whether they feel the pain humans feel or not is a moot point, as that is simply metaphysical speculation.
Here is some research from the Royal Society of England:
http://royalsociety.org/news.asp?year=&id=1697
An interesting point is that "Fish" is a huge group with many variations in it.
. Any other thoughts?