A Different Take on Great Ape Personhood

Pooch Doggy Dog - yours truly - is sentient, intelligent and good looking. Much more than the human species' typical male. I'm including a picture of myself to the left.  You be the judge!

But, let's talk about the humans I keep company with. They can "sin", or perform evil acts, or commit foul deeds. They can "do wrong." This is beyond question. However, I am increasingly unnerved by the capacity to "do wrong" within the ape family. Lying, cheating, stealing, sadism. They all seem to be present. Now, whether you believe in theological sin, or just in a general ethical framework in which "wrong" can occur, can apes sin? 

Don't like the word sin?  Then, change it to something you are comfortable with, and reask the question.  

The article linked below discusses the "personhood" of apes and monkeys and treats of the question above. A disturbing example from the article...

[A researcher] described watching chimpanzees in the wild torture a forest antelope for fun, nearly killing it before — in a breach of research etiquette — he intervened. "That was a total ethical misstep. I'd just had enough. These chimpanzees didn't even eat it. It was clear from the get-go: this was going to be a sentient, living toy," he said.

Read it and add a comment with your thoughts...

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/primatepersonho.html

View the Prairie Pooch Hole blog here...