- evolutionarily evolved feelings do not need to be logically consistent with the evolutionary benefit, as a long as they cause the evolutionarily beneficial behavior
An example that I observe is in guinea pigs. These are quintessential prey animals, and benefit from being under cover. If domestic guinea pigs don't have cover for a few hours, and are then given it, they run under the cover. Do they then breathe a sign of relief, and show signs that their emotion is one of renewed safety? No, they jump up and down, and squeak noisily in excitement! Apparently being under cover is cool.
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I think there is a general principle here:
- evolutionarily evolved feelings do not need to be logically consistent with the evolutionary benefit, as a long as they cause the evolutionarily beneficial behavior
An example that I observe is in guinea pigs. These are quintessential prey animals, and benefit from being under cover. If domestic guinea pigs don't have cover for a few hours, and are then given it, they run under the cover. Do they then breathe a sign of relief, and show signs that their emotion is one of renewed safety? No, they jump up and down, and squeak noisily in excitement! Apparently being under cover is cool.