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

  • They have no brain but aren’t they like almost entirely nervous system? That’s all you need to feel pain; the brain just makes it more complicated than “ouch, move away from that.”

    • @Mininux@sh.itjust.works
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      41 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

      • @Archpawn@lemmy.world
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        21 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.

      • curiosityLynx
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        21 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)

        • merde alors
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          11 year ago

          nicotine in the tomato too (which the plant produces for the animals to eat and spread its grains) or rather in the leaves, flowers and stem?

          • curiosityLynx
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            11 year ago

            As far as I know it’s in the fruit as well to some snall degree, but I’m no expert