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Originally posted by Yorick:
quote:
Originally posted by Masklinn:
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Ok now let's assume there is no God. Ok so you die, you die and there is no ultimate purpose to life. Woohoo.
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Do you ask yourself this question when a squirrel, a dog or a tree dies ? Do they have an ultimate purpose in life ? Do they go to this "better place" ?
Most of religious people would say : eh of course not !
Though you see, we re just some evolved squirrels.[/QUOTE]A squirrel is not born without instincts. A squirrel doesn't have to learn everything from obsevation the way a human does.
A squirrel does not question why it is here, nor get fed up and end it's own life.
A squirrel does not create works of art that express it's inner desires, dreams and hopes.
A squirrel does not hypothesise alternate scenarios before initiating an action, like a human does.
A squirrel does not get worked up in a fit over a perceived slight from it's mate.
A squirrel does not need to "get away from it all" because it's existence has become habitual and in a rut.
A squirrel does not kill for sport.
A squirrel does not embark on a search to find: It's real parents, it's homeland, what it really wants to do in it's life, a reason to keep on living.
We are considerably differnt from squirrels. 
[/QUOTE]Squirrels don't do these things, but chimpanzees do. [img]smile.gif[/img]
For centuries, scientists have wondered what exactly makes us humans different from animals.
For a long time, the answer seemed to be : Only humans use tools. Heh no. Lots of animals are able to get a nearby rock or branch and use it to help themselves to, say, loot an anthill. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Then it was said, sure, but only humans are able to MAKE tools. Nope. Evolved apes like Chimpanzees and Gorillas are able to combine stuff, for example make a longer branch from two smaller branches tied up to get better results from the said anthill. [img]smile.gif[/img]
OK, but only humans are able to consciously PLAN. Sorry, again no. A community of Chimpanzees has been observed sending a group 10 km away to a special place when the right sort of rocks could be found to use as tools. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I can go on : Only humans laugh ? Nope, Chimpanzees do. Only humans create ? No, scientific projects observing Chimpanzees have provided them with paper and pencils, and some apes made drawings. [img]smile.gif[/img]
All these abilities seem to derive from self-consciousness. Are you able to distinguish yourself from any other member of the same race ? Humans do - and again, Chimpanzees do, experiences with mirrors have proven that. So far, it seems that only humans and chimpanzees possess self-consciousness.
Other troubling (and IMO exciting) facts.
When you give access to a big mirror to a group of Chimpanzees, after a while they are able to know that it is themselves they are seeing, and observe others from the mirror - and after another while they take great fun painting their face and looking at their reflection and laughing ! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Chimpanzees are able to learn and use deaf language to communicate - and they are able to express abstraction, like "I am sad because Mum is ill". [img]smile.gif[/img]
A young Chimpanzee was raised with a human family. A group of other Chimpanzees lived nearby. When asked, from a set of photos, which ones were of Chimpanzees and which ones were of Humans, she answered correctly for all the photos but one : she put herself in the Humans group ... [img]smile.gif[/img]
In a Chimpanzee community, there was one who had a brain disease, making him unable to 'grow up', he was physically adult but behaved like a child. The other Chimpanzees cared for him and sheltered him as a human community would for a fellow crippled human (or some may say better ...). Once he went to the leader and undertook the 'challenge' stance - the leader started to take an aggressive stance, then saw it was the cripple and immediately went back to calm and ignored him. [img]smile.gif[/img]
And my favourite anecdote : Two scientists locked a Chimpanzee in a room with various pieces of furniture, to observe his behaviour. So they locked the door and one of them put his eye on the peephole ... to face a huge brown eye looking him back ! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
Chimpanzees are self-conscious. Chimpanzees have very complex societies. Chimpanzees think and plan. Chimpanzees learn. Chimpanzees create. Chimpanzees laugh. Chimpanzees have feelings. Chimpanzees care for each other.
Chimpanzees don't make war. Chimpanzees don't seek growth at all costs. Chimpanzees leave the world intact.
Are the Chimpanzees wiser than we are ? More 'human' ?
Are they our future ?
Is there a place in Heaven for Chimpanzees ?