They don’t have a brain really and kinda just float there. Do they even feel pain?

  • Mininux@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    If having a reaction to physical damage (like moving away) is enough to be qualified as pain, then some plants feel pain too. We studied in biology a plant that when cut/eaten by animals releases chemicals that warn plants around it and triggers them to release another chemical that interferes with animal’s digestive system and make them starve (I don’t remember the name of the plant unfortunately). So should we consider this as pain too ?

    there are many other examples here too:wikipedia

    man I hate philosophy

    • curiosityLynx@kglitch.social
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      1 year ago

      Tobacco and tomato plants do something similar. They produce more nicotine to poison the insects eating them and also warn their neighbours.

      (Yes, tomatoes also produce nicotine, and it is technically possible to become slightly addicted to tomatoes if you have a very tomato-heavy diet)

    • Archpawn@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If reaction to physicals damage is enough to qualify as pain, a brick wall feels pain. If you damage it, it will start having holes, and eventually fall over completely.

      I think at the very least you’d need some kind of learning. Pain is the stuff you learn to avoid and pleasure is the stuff you learn to do more. Without that, it’s impossible to say whether an instinctive response to stimuli is a negative or positive feeling.