do dogs have free will?

[EvrLstngDaze]

I know there's been a lot of posts about free will, but this is fundamentally different. I don't own any animals, nor have I ever lived around them, so this one's for all you pet lovers out there:

do you think dogs (pets, chimpanzees, other nonhuman creatures) have free will? or are all their actions guided by survival instincts?

please be serious in your answer, it's not a joke, honestly.

[loseyourname]

Very nearly all creatures show absolutely no sign of free will. That is, members of the same species will behave identically when exposed to identical stimuli. Exceptions lie in higher mammals (particularly primates and marine mammals) and some birds. They all show a diversity of problem solving abilities that at least indicates the possibility of free will, but I can't think of any way it could be determined whether or not they were actually behaving freely, or the different approaches they take to solving problems is simply a result of having slightly dissimilar brains.

[dusken]

Originally posted by loseyourname ... or the different approaches they take to solving problems is simply a result of having slightly dissimilar brains.

This is what, I would argue, accounts for differences among people as well.

[sSsflamesSs]

I don't know about other creatures, but my two birds have two completely different personalities. The yellow one can be comparable to a naive, vulnerable, yet playful and loud girl, while the blue one is sly, acts all innocent at first, but waits for the opportune moment to attack my finger. Also, the yellow one is more eager to perch on my finger, while the other one is more difficult to catch, but will follow the yellow one around, which is the technique I use to catch it and put it back in its cage (get the yellow one on the cage, with the blue to follow). Does that account for free will, since the two are so different?

[loseyourname]

The Mississippi River behaves quite differently than the Los Angeles. That fact alone does not make them free.

[sSsflamesSs]

Originally posted by loseyourname The Mississippi River behaves quite differently than the Los Angeles. That fact alone does not make them free.

You call that an example?

Do not be comparing the living to the nonliving, please.

[loseyourname]

Originally posted by sSsflamesSs You call that an example?

Do not be comparing the living to the nonliving, please.

Okay, Euglena behaves quite differently than Anabaena. Neither has a central nervous system, so I think it is safe to say they are not free.

[loseyourname]

By the way, aren't you the one that negated altruism? Didn't you say that all of our actions can be explained by self-interest, whether or not we were conscious of this as a motivating factor? Reconcile your views.

[dusken]

Central nervous system? Am I missing something? Last I checked, birds have brains and spinal chords.

[sSsflamesSs]

Originally posted by loseyourname By the way, aren't you the one that negated altruism? Didn't you say that all of our actions can be explained by self-interest, whether or not we were conscious of this as a motivating factor? Reconcile your views.

I fail to see how selfishness contradicts free will.