Luciano asked:

Descartes believes that animals have no souls, and presumably no inner lives. Yet one can observe
behavior in animals which seems to suggest that they do in fact experience emotions. How might
Descartes attempt to reconcile his theories about animals with empirical evidence that seems to
refute them? Do you think he could do this successfully?

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Unfortunately, Luciano, I think he can. You can step on a dog's tail, and watch it yelling with pain, but
you can't 'get into' it's consciousness to see that pain. Yes, you think that yelling can prove pain, but if
you dream a dog is yelling you will be seeing it yelling without 'it' having any pain, simply because it
doesn't exist! Thus the jump from the yelling of the dog which is the 'result of pain' into 'the dog is
having pain' is not acceptable. Moreover, there is an even 'bolder' theory, by the name of solipsism,
which states that 'I am the ONLY conscious creature' it negates even other people's
consciousnesses! And it is logically valid, but not necessary just for the same reasons of Descartes
ideas.

Descartes' cripple idea was regarded with delight by religious authorities at his time since it came in
favor with the medieval ideas of humans being a 'special creation' totally different than the 'beasts of
the fields'!

Arthur Brown

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