Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
I have been reading that fish do not feel pain and wonder how that could be.
If they feel no pain how do they protect themselves, I mean you would think that you would need pain to alert you to something going wrong if you see what I mean.
ALEX
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There is a difference between an instinctual response (think how your hand automatically pulls back from a heat source if you touch it) versus a conscious pain response, which in humans happens after the initial instinctual response and occurs in parts of the brain that some animals don't even have. "Pain" in its broadest definition is pretty essential for life as it simply means moving away from or avoiding noxious stimuli. Doesn't mean the organism "suffers" though. As an example, look up people with "congenital analgesia". They don't feel physical pain and typically don't live very long as a result.