“Investigations into what apes can and cannot do may provide some insight into the evolutionary origins of our unique abilities. But it cannot tell us very much, if anything, about what it means to be human. Rather, today’s increasingly shrill claims that apes and other animals are ‘just like us’ reveals the degraded view some people have of human beings.”

Helene Guldberg argues that, contrary to popular wisdom, chimps are nothing like humans. She notes that while we do indeed share 98.8% of our DNA with chimps, we also share 50% with bananas – but we aren’t half fruit. Instead, she contends, cognitive ability, logic and culture – rather than genetics – define what it means to be human. Article on Spiked, here.

Posted Friday, March 20th, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
Filed in community and social, science and tech

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