Think You Know Who's "Human"? Think Again.
Filed under: Philosphy
Here's a philosophical poser that should give pause to anyone concerned about natural rights and democracy.
The Associated Press reports that a young chimpanzee has defeated human adults in a short-term memory test:
One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test. This time, five numbers flashed on the screen only briefly before they were replaced by white squares. The challenge, again, was to touch these squares in the proper sequence. When the numbers were displayed for about seven-tenths of a second, Ayumu and the college students were both able to do this correctly about 80 percent of the time. But when the numbers were displayed for just four-tenths or two-tenths of a second, the chimp was the champ. The briefer of those times is too short to allow a look around the screen, and in those tests Ayumu still scored about 80 percent, while humans plunged to 40 percent. That indicates Ayumu was better at taking in the whole pattern of numbers at a glance, the researchers wrote.
On what basis, then, would anyone argue that a chimpanzee does not deserve the same protection under the law afforded to a human being? Indeed, if they are smarter, perhaps they should be protected more?
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