ABMA 2013
Research and Evaluation Workshop
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Once more with feeling: are some animals sentient, and if so, do they have emotions? Are animals sentient? In other words, do they have feelings? Our workshop will start with a presentation by Ian Duncan: a historical overview of how humans have regarded other animals. You will then work in groups to discuss whether the species you know best or work with most closely are sentient. Are there any species or stages of development that you feel are not sentient? We will ask you to consider why you think what you do, and how certain you are of your judgment. Next we will ask you to think about a type of feeling: affective states. Georgia Mason will briefly review what affective states are (essentially moods and emotions), and their central role in animal welfare. You will then work in groups to evaluate your ability to assess affective states in the species you know best or work with most closely. Are you confident you can tell when they are ‘happy’, ‘content’, ‘scared’, ‘miserable’ etc.? What are the most human-like responses that you see in your animals of choice? What are the least human-like signs of emotion they display? (There may be small prizes on offer for the best impersonations…). We will ask you to discuss how you feel you know that what you are seeing is evidence of a positive or negative affective state (for example, are you just being anthropomorphic?), and how certain you are that you are right. We will then wrap up with a brief presentation from Georgia Mason on how welfare scientists validate indicators of animal emotion.
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