I wander what's actually at stake here, suppose we confirm that they have an extensive language, does that impact any of your philosophical (or non-philosophical) views?All the same...how about that? The supposed uniqueness of human (capacity for) language is the cornerstone of many a debate. As I was only saying to my local feral geese this afternoon down by the canal. (The crows listened, but only cawed cautiously) — mcdoodle
It seems dolphins might have a language as complex as our own. — mcdoodle
I wander what's actually at stake here, suppose we confirm that they have an extensive language, does that impact any of your philosophical (or non-philosophical) views? — shmik
But we have not progressed far from our supposedly unconscious relations in the biosphere. — Punshhh
My citation of Douglas Adams was meant to add a veneer of wryness to my remarks. — mcdoodle
Still, I think some animals are more cultural than you imagine, and even quite small-brained animals pass skills and knowledge on to their young and their fellows. I've had an abiding interest in the great tit, partly of course because of the provocative name, and partly because of the famous period in the 1920's when the tit population of Britain seemed to learn how to open the bottle tops of milk left on the doorstep at remarkable speed. Here's a Nature piece from a couple of years ago about cultural transmission among great tits, which have been observed over many generations now: — mcdoodle
They refer to the "newly-invented" hydrophone. It was invented more than 100 years ago. — Martian Visitor
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