Some thoughts on Great Apes
According to Wikipedia, the "Great Apes" are members of the taxonomic family Hominidae, a subset of primates that includes gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees (and their very similar counterpart, bonobos) as well as humans. There is something thought-provoking about this classification, despite the fact that people are generally aware of the evolutionary connection between humans and apes. Maybe it's a confrontation with the information that we are apes. The dominant species on Earth is listed alongside tree dwelling, fruit-eating, hairy creatures that we typically see in zoos. I think it's exciting and interesting how close I am to a non-human ape. Like, having developed an interest in notable ape-figures like Koko the Gorilla and Ham the Chimp, the proximity between "us" and them has only encouraged me to learn more. I don't intend this post to be entirely philosophical, but I wonder if the novelty of other ape species is preventing me from rea...