Maybe a better comparison would be to roaches or millipedes? They're not actually hurting anything, other than being gross.
Like Lila said, in New England lobsters are called sea bugs. Unlike the brain of a chicken or a cow, a lobster's brain doesn't have any higher functioning. It just controls movement. They thrash around when you pick them up, but I think any bug would do the same. It's not like they're thinking "oh my god, NOOOOOOO" as you lower them toward the boiling water.
How do you know this for sure, no sarcasm? How are you certain there is no feeling of desire to get away from the heat? How do they avoid predators without some level of fear?
There's a great piece by David Foster Wallace, "Consider the Lobster," that I believe goes into the science of whether a lobster feels pain (probably not), and what does pain even mean, when not attached to emotion. Like, it's just negative stimulus, a tool that evolved to help organisms stay alive. If you haven't read it, I think you'd like it. It's hyper-critical of American consumption of meat in general.
Truthfully, I don't even like squishing bugs. I'm squeamish about killing anything. I don't know why - it's just a visceral reaction.
How do you know this for sure, no sarcasm? How are you certain there is no feeling of desire to get away from the heat? How do they avoid predators without some level of fear?
There's a great piece by David Foster Wallace, "Consider the Lobster," that I believe goes into the science of whether a lobster feels pain (probably not), and what does pain even mean, when not attached to emotion.
There is also a book by Trevor Corson called The Secret Lives of Lobsters that shares everything you ever wanted to know about lobsters and more. The author concludes the book by discussing how best to cook lobster.
As a side note, lobsters have urine release nozzles on their heads. When they are engaged in disputes over territory or female lobsters, they release urine at their opponent. So, lobsters literally have pissing contests.