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Humans are NOT the only sentient creatures
Posted By: angrymob	Date: 5/9/08 12:18 a.m.
: I am fairly sure, (perhaps with the exception of a few kinds of monkeys), : that although we are discovering very interesting things regarding : different animals language abilities never thought possible before, there : is very little evidence to support other animals have ever come close to : consciousness. Without the development of a cognitive/reasoning center : like our frontal lobe consciousness simply is not possible. But if you do : hear a dolphin say "cogito ergo sum" then catch it, cause you : would be one rich dude if that were the case haha. Unfortunately humans : are the only ones so far to have ever realized "I think therefore I : am." That is only if dolphins are not like they are in Hitchhiker's : Guide to the Galaxy and they can really secretly dance, sing, and travel : through space. This is just flat-out wrong. First (a) language is not a requirement for self-awareness. Whether other creatures have language is debatable, and I really don't want to have to run after your shifting goalposts. But regarding self-awareness, yes, many animals ARE self-aware. A good test of self-awareness is the "mirror test" - that is, is the creature capable of using a mirror to examine itself, and so able to understand the concept that the image it sees is a representation of itself. Wikipedia says: "Animals that have passed the mirror test are all of the great apes (humans, bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas), bottlenose dolphins, killer whales, and elephants." Educate yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_test Also, peel back the thick layer of anthrocentrism you've smeared all over yourself.

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