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> Humans are the only animals we know to be capable of reasoning Definitely not. We know of multiple other species capable of displaying abstract reasonining.
by WastingMyTime89 5y ago
> Humans are the only animals we know to be capable of reasoning
Definitely not. We know of multiple other species capable of displaying abstract reasonining. That was observed in monkeys in at least 1917 and has now been confirmed with rooks and crows.
> They're also the only animals we know to be capable of language.
We know of multiple marine mammals which communicate.
- jhgb 5y ago> We know of multiple marine mammals which communicate. Language implies communication, but communication does not imply language. So if you've only observed some communication, it's irrelevant for language. For example, languages, as opposed to non-language-based forms of communication, are characterized by having syntactic structure. As for those other species allegedly capable of abstract reasoning, I'm not quite sure how you'd conclusively discern the abstract nature from observed cases.
- jleyank 5y agoUse of tools? Delayed gratification? Visual learning? Organized behaviour? And so on. There’s a neocortex in other animals and a lizard brain in humans and the latter is still prone to instinctual, non-rational action.
- WastingMyTime89 5y ago> As for those other species allegedly capable of abstract reasoning, I'm not quite sure how you'd conclusively discern the abstract nature from observed cases. My native language has a proverb I find fitting to this situation: no one is more blind that the one who doesn’t want to see.
- CRConrad 5y ago> My native language has a proverb I find fitting to this situation: no one is more blind that the one who doesn’t want to see. I don't know where -- in which language -- that was originally coined, but nowadays it's present in many places and languages.