An Evolutionary Basis for Ethics?

I'm guessing you don't know much about Koko then.She's indubitably capable of abstract thought. This first came up when she created her own sign for feces, which was a combo "toilet-smell". There was still a lot of doubt at this point, basically the objection was that she might just be talking about the smell itself. But then she started referring to a researcher that she didn't get along with as "toilet-smell-scientist". She was calling him a shithead !!!She's proceeded a long way since then. She also tends to make puns, based on her study of human sounds. She refers to humans as "nipple" for example, because the spoken word sounds similar to "people" to her. She has worked with other gorillas, some of whom sign and some of whom do not. She does not refer to the non-signers as "not-speaking", the way she does her pet cats, but rather as "speaking-not-scientist". This seems to indicate that gorillas have a language of their own. When questioned about this, she says it is "closed-box", meaning, a secret.She has a conception of the future; but unlike humans, who think of it as being ahead of them, because it is where we are going, she thinks of the future as being behind her, because she cannot see it. One of the gorillas she worked with, Michael, after learning sign was apparently able to tell the story of his mother's death at the hands of poachers. They do understand death; gorillas in the wild have a simple but touching funeral ritual, involving members of the family getting together and sharing their grief while the body sits in state.Koko is currently working in Africa, teaching sign language to human children, not only those who are deaf but also those who wish to work with the deaf. She is a good teacher, encouraging kids who do well and utilizing them to help her with those who fall behind. She has expressed the idea that while her scientists and students are "not-gorilla", they are "like-gorilla". In other words, we are people too.No one has had the heart to explain to her about "bush meat", however.

That's an interesting theory. I wouldnt want to be the one to test it, though.Authorities try to determine how chimps got free to attack | The Seattle Times Chimps. Don't. Cave.