A small debate... Look. :)

[--I am Sherlocked--]

Okay, well, today, I was at school, and my one teacher, was talking about animals and saying: Animals don't think, they act out of pure instinct.
Maybe not those EXACT words but he pretty much said that. I don't believe that. I believe animals CAN think.
Post what your opinion is.
No fighting! And, don't swear... Even if you disagree with someone's opinion.

[IAmLink]

Well...that depends on what kind of "thinking" you're talking about.

For instance, I'm pretty sure that most animals to do not, or cannot, think about their future. Animals in the wild have instincts to ready themselves for the different seasons, but they don't think about getting older and what they're going to do with their day XP

On the other hand, certain animals DO think a lot to figure out problems; dogs, primates, and dolphins are a few. Just like those same animals can learn, and remember, new things/people/places/etc.

Some argue that animals also feel emotions, though not all. A lot of mammels seem to realize when a family member or offspring has died and then they grieve. Elephants in particular have been known to, on their yearly migrations, to stop at places where a family member has died, find the bones of said member, and they will pick up the bones and pass them amongst each other and seem to have clear expressions of grieving, as though that same member had just died.

[--I am Sherlocked--]

I pretty much agree with you, some animals think, but, some don't. Maybe bugs and spiders don't think? I do think animals feel emotions as when my cat lost her tooth, it went into her tongue, she like gagged and couldn't breath almost. She felt that didn't she? PAIN is definitively an emotion.
My opinon on this: Some animals think and feel emotions. :3 Mostly the big ones e.g: sharks, seals, dolphins, horses, elephants, monkeys definitively e.c.t.

[IAmLink]

Well actually, pain is a feeling, not really an emotion ;3

I think it's pretty safe to say that all animals feel pain, simply because it is a survival instinct. If animals did not feel pain, then they would just let themselves die.

Emotions are more along the lines of happiness, sadness, grief, etc. ;3

[--I am Sherlocked--]

Well actually, pain is a feeling, not really an emotion ;3

I think it's pretty safe to say that all animals feel pain, simply because it is a survival instinct. If animals did not feel pain, then they would just let themselves die.

Emotions are more along the lines of happiness, sadness, grief, etc. ;3

Wait, an example. Puppies, they howl/cry when their owners normally leave don't they? They are sad aren't they? The feel lonely, since their owner isn't there..

[plum]

To an extent, they can think, but I would believe their thoughts are much more simple than ours.

Tiny post is tiny. D:

[Saracirce]

Sadness is an emotion.

I do think animals think, just not the way we do. Like, we generally think in words and sentences except when trying to solve a problem that is labor intensive. Animals don't think with words and sentences, at least not in the way we do. They definitely do have intelligence though don't just act on instinct.

When you correct a dog for a certain behavior, they stop and think to try to figure out what they did that we didn't like. It make take a few CONSISTENT corrections but they'll get it in the end. They also know when something's not right or something's happening that shouldn't be. For instance, just now one of my mom's boyfriend's cats got out through a broken window screen. Clemmy made some unusual barking noises and then went and found me and bugged me until I took her outside. She put her nose right to the ground (who knew Boxers had (poor) tracking skills? xD) and tracked Salem (the cat) to the bush she was hiding under then looked at me like 'Found her!' She was smart enough to know she needed a human to go get a cat that wasn't supposed to be outside. Or, at the very least, she wanted to know what the cat was up to. That's problem solving and critical thinking.

[--I am Sherlocked--]

Okay, thanks for the comments, I added a poll.

[Ourpawprints]

I think animals definitely have emotions and can think, but in a different way then us. They probably think in pictures, like instead of thinking "I am going to pick up that tennis ball" they might imagine themselves holding a tennis ball. So yeah, just my two cents I guess.

[Silverhart]

Ooh! I love this subject! I've done quite a but if research on animal intelligence and emotions. There's several really great TV programs on the subject.

It's a controversial subject for sure. I personally believe that yes, animals can feel strong emotions, like fear, love, sadness, anger. These emotions are survival tools. They motivate an animal, just like they motivate us, to do things for survival. Fear of course preps an animal to fight or flight. Fear is generally assumed to be a universal emotion. Feeling love helps animals form bonds that are beneficial to them, like with a mate, or a leader who'll protect them, or a mother with her offspring. 
Now, I don't know if animals feel all the emotions we do, or if they do it's not how we feel them. We have words and language to develop more complex emotions. I think the big-brained social animals; birds, dolphins, dogs, chimps, might have emotions that are much more similar to ours. However I have no idea what dwells in the mind of a snake or a lobster, if they feel jealousy, or guilt or contentedness. And there's really no way of proving or disproving an animal's emotional capacity. Insects might have a wealth of emotions, but we'll never know. I try to give all creatures the benefit of the doubt, and treat them with respect, no matter their size or species (except mosquitoes, hate mosquitoes).
It's interesting, and it doesn't appear anyone has mentioned this, but it is possible for animals to become traumatized or depressed. In fact, I've heard many of the medications used for treating depression in humans can also be used successfully with depressed animals. (Actually I have to look that up again, because I only heard that once and that was a few years ago. So take it with a grain of salt.) Chemical wise, we're all wired pretty similarly. They expirence the same rush of chemicals in the brain we do when they feel happy, fearful, or stressed out.
It is true that animals can become traumatized, and I think we should definitly extend our respect and compassion to those animals that show they can suffer emotional trauma. 

As for intelligence, ah, that is a very interesting subject! Animals are certainly intelligent, but they aren't intelligent like we are. A dog for example would probably find us very dumb, because we can only smell soup, when they can smell every indivdual ingredient in the soup. And in some acts of intelligence, animals excel us. Pigeons for example, can solve math problems that would stump most students. If you want to judge intelligence by the ability to problem solve, then yes, animals are intelligent. Many animals can solve problems when they are first presented them, this has been proven again and again, in chimps, elephants, crows, rats, and other animals. And not just simple problems, but fairly complex ones. So yes, animals are intelligent, but the question of  intelligence is subjective. Would you think an ant was smart? They've been building cities, cultivating their own food, and waging war for millions of years before we came around. You could argue "that's just instinct!" And yes, I admit there aren't any 'ant inventors' or ant geniuses coming up with new technology. The creativity side of intelligence is lacking in them. But does that mean that they're just dumb machines? You can't really know, can you? Who's to say they aren't great thinkers, they just might think differently then we do.
 So you see, intelligence is all a question of who's judging. That's just my opinion.

Whoo! End of tirade. As you can tell this is a subject I'm very passionate about. And I will happily keep talking about it and citing examples, but I better stop myself here.