Joel Kontinen
Christine Webb's provocative and moving book The Arrogant
Ape explores our unjustifiable sense of superiority in the living world, laying
out the evidence against it, says Elle Hunt.
Tests of chimps’ intelligence often take place in labs, not
in the wild or in sanctuaries like this one.
In the beginning, God made man in his image, granting him
dominion over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
According to evolution, most people don’t look to the Bible
to understand the world and our place in it, yet this view of humans as
superior to nature and non-human life is sneakily persistent.
The characteristics
said tao distinguish humans and justify our dominance – including
the ability to reason, use tools, feel pain, act morally – aren’t exclusively
human, it seems. Chimps, crows and others show nuanced intelligence, have
complex social bonds and use tools; fish and crustaceans feel pain; bees are cultural beings;
even plants may have senses akin to ours.
But it seems that animals have their traits, which does not
make them humans. They create things that look like they tools for making you
well.
Apes are not the only animals that can make human like tools. For
instance, crows do the same.
Elle Hunt 2025
Posts
