Higher consciousness in animals
December 19, 2010 at 6:16 am
(This post was last modified: December 19, 2010 at 6:47 pm by Justtristo.)
There is very good reason to believe not just humans have the sort of highly developed consciousness that theologians associate with having a soul. For example; there is a test called the mirror test, in this test animals are shown a mirror with a reflection of themselves. Essentially it shows the self-awareness level of the particular animal, only a few other species apart from ourselves pass this test which are the following; chimpanzees, elephants, humans, bottle-nose dolphins, Orcas, European magpies, Pigeons and rhesus macaques. Interesting enough humans fail this test until they are 18 months old. Also there is good evidence to suggest a high level of intelligence among Great Apes, Elephants and Whales. The question that arises that could these different species have what theologians consider a soul, which only humans are supposed to have.
Indeed in the case of elephants it has been observed they have a very good memory and have behaviours such as mourning their dead. This article from National Geographic explains this in a little detail. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/...nes_2.html. Also with Whales communicate in complex languages like our own with their own regional dialects.
Indeed in the case of elephants it has been observed they have a very good memory and have behaviours such as mourning their dead. This article from National Geographic explains this in a little detail. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/...nes_2.html. Also with Whales communicate in complex languages like our own with their own regional dialects.
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