Gorilla DNA; Gorillas R\' Us; speech (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 18:38 (4518 days ago) @ dhw

We may be hugely more advanced in language than they are, but their language has proved adequate for their needs-Exactly my point. Adequate for their needs, and our abilities are adequate for our needs. But that doesn't tell us why we are so advanced, in kind not degree. We could have survived as they do, but something happened to make us most unusual. -> Yes, we have art, philosophy and self-awareness to the nth degree, and of course chimps and gorillas R not us. No-one ever said they were. But we owe them, we are more like them than we care to acknowledge, and if all this research leads us to greater empathy with them because of all the common factors, I for one will not begrudge the grant money.-Do you want to pay the taxes for that stupid grant money? On the basis of empathy? We owe them proper animal husbandry. We don't owe them for our development, but must use our development to properly protect them.