Do animals care about looks? Aside from ones that put on a display

>>2371948
Yes. Unless they are actually a blind species. Then they care about other things like smell.

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>>2371948

I think they respond to looks in others, but not in themselves. Your peacock, for example. A potential mate will find it interesting, which is how he has been naturally selected to be born with such wonderful plumage. But its not an issue he controls.

This doesnt discount 'rituals'. Animals do care to attract mates. But you have to understand how they see things. I think the germane reference here would be 'Theory of Mind'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind

This is relevant in what we see in animal communication and how we define communication.

For example, if I am angry, I might bear my teeth and growl. But it doesnt mean that I expect you to make any association and react, I am just expressing a feeling. Even if I snap my teeth at you. In order for me to intend communication, I have to first be able to abstract that you have a mind like me and can make associations from what I am doing.

Likewise, maybe you are bearing your teeth and growling at me. I might notice the unusual behavior and be uncomfortable enough to respond by retreating. And that might please you. But it was because I was uncomfortable with your behavior, not because I imagined that you were trying to tell me something because it would never occur to me that you could.

We can say cells communicate with each other too. But there is reaction and, for lack of a better term, expression. That is, I do something to do it with no intent, hope or grasp that it can be understood. Then something else reacts to it. Animals do this constantly. But *our* level of communication is a bit different because we *intend* to create a reaction.

Being able to *know* (or even suspect) that another creature has a mind to react to what I do is a huge leap. Most animals chirp, dance etc and hope things work out without a clue or hope that anything will have the ability to react to them. They are constantly expressing without the empathy to expect cognitive reaction.

>>2372115
Fascinating, thanks!

>>2371985
The question first occurred to me because I saw an emperor penguin reject one of two mates that looked the same in size and everything, but maybe it was using smell.

>>2372115
what do you study anon?

>>2372115
I can only hope people who are not me can understand what I say and have a mind in their brain. I cannot actually know they do as I its a metaphysical concept in of itself.

Likewise, others cant know I have a mind. I could simply be a robot responding to a set of causes and conditions. A very complex ones, but still nonetheless nothing particularly strange about following causal chain.

What would be strange is if there's some weird extra-causal entity controlling your body, your actions, your thoughts, etc. That would break physics and break the laws of the universe as we know it.