On Bonobos and person-hood: I have a topic for you guys.

I was talking about this with my friends and one of them insisted I post this to you guys. I want to say that I love the show and I really hope you do a video on this topic. Let's get started, shall we? I have a lot of ground to cover and I really don't want to ramble. Do you guys know about bonobos? They're an ape species that are more closely related to us than chimps or gorillas. Most people don't know about them because they're not kept in zoos due to their social mating habits. Social is an apt word to describe them on almost every level. They live in complex social structures reminiscent to that of early humans and even have their own vocal language. That's not very unusual, I suppose, but what is unusual is how they interact with OUR language. In captivity, scientists began teaching bonobos to read and write as well as the fairly common teaching of sign language, as was done with gorillas and chimps. They didn't use a standard English alphabet, but created a symbol alphabet for the bonobos to learn, and what came out of it shocked the scientists. Not only were these bonobos becoming fluent in sign language, but they were also using their new symbol alphabet to read and write. The scientists could communicate with the bonobos and they would write back as well as sign in full sentences. When all was said and done, these bonobos were learning literally thousands of English words. The ability for them to read, write and sign as well as passing the mirror test for self-awareness (as all apes do) isn't the only amazing thing. In addition, they also prefer to walk upright as their default way of getting around. Additionally, they make complex tools that are very similar in structure to the tools made by early man, and are often much more advanced than even chimps. This brings me to my real point. What is person-hood? If we look at a more sci-fi approach to things, especially the work of Asimov, we see that what makes a person is less about being human and more about sentience. Bonobos are inarguably sentient. In addition, the rest of the sci-fi landscape seems to denote human-like extraterrestrial beings as being potentially people too. My question is: what is a person and would bonobos qualify? We look to the stars for intelligent life, but is that intelligence here, in these humble bonobos? What implications does that have on OUR person-hood? As an atheist, I don't much buy into spirituality (duh) but to those who are religious, what does that potential non-human person-hood mean to them? Would bonobos have souls? This question is often asked about mankind's supposed special place in the universe and whether or not the presence of intelligent extraterrestrials would complicate that. So, while the question of whether or not aliens have souls will remain largely unanswerable for quite some time (and for obvious reasons), this question concerning bonobos still needs an answer. Additionally, what type of rights would bonobos gain if they were recognized as people? Look at Data from Star Trek TNG when he was recognized by the Federation as a person despite being synthetic. I think the potential religious, philosophical, scientific and social-political ramifications of bonobo person-hood would be a great topic for a new episode, especially if framed against aliens, Star Trek and Asimov as I have; though not to bog you down, I want to make a couple more related points. What of other such animals of ambiguous sentience? Like I mentioned before, other apes, while not as advanced as bonobos, do have tool usage, the ability to learn sign language, self-contained vocal language, complex social structures and they do pass the mirror test. What is THEIR person-hood? Dolphins can communicate complex thoughts via large underwater keyboards at aquariums and they attempt to mimic and supposedly understand human speech patterns. They, too, pass the mirror test, show VERY limited tool usage and have complex social structures. Lastly on this point, what of certain species of talking birds that do not just mimic human speech patterns, but actually learn to use language

effectively? My very last point is probably something that won't make it into the episode, but I would like it to be known that humans ARE genetically compatible with both chimps and bonobos; and while no confirmed cross-breeding has occurred, it is biologically possible for any of these species to interbreed (gross). The effect would be similar to that of horses/zebras/donkeys or lions/tigers/panthers; but what does that say about people if we can potentially create offspring with animals? Yes, I know that humans are animals, but I mean to make the clarification more for a philosophical point rather than from a scientific perspective. The term most often associated with this is humanzee. I know a lot of research is going to have to go into this, and I can cite tons of sources if you guys need. I'm just really interested in the possibility of this becoming an episode. Please get back to me. Thanks. -Jay Kidd (wraithstaff on YouTube and sirkidd2003 literally everywhere else)