True, murder is a human title but we have a working definition in the thread — DingoJones
The issue I have here is with the definition. I'm unaware of any "implicit agreement" between chimps. That's inferred by you. And that opens the question of murder in whose eyes? Now, if you define it that way, then end of discussion, but the question arises as to what is gained by the definition? Do we indict, arrest, prosecute, and on conviction punish the chimps? In such proceedings there's the legal standard of mens rea. How do you prove that in a chimp?So the monkeys do have a social structure.... Ganging up and killing the alpha chimp is going against the order they implicitly agreed to live by. This qualifies as murder, as murder has been defined here. — DingoJones
Why don't you bother to tell us what you mean by "murder. — tim wood
Tyrant is a human title, something we have in our societies. The alpha male of chimps IS a tyrant. Thats how their society works. Since they acted outside that rule and killed him, it constitutes murder. Its as close to unlawful as the chimps have. — DingoJones
Now, if you define it that way, then end of discussion, but the question arises as to what is gained by the definition? — tim wood
Yes, if I'm to understand what you're talking about. But you seem to think it's ridiculously simple and easy. Ok, shouldn't take you more than a few words and moments to put the together: what do you mean by "murder." Btw, I reckon animals can do things that look murderous, but pretty clearly that's in the eye of the beholder. How does your "eye" become an indictment of chimpanzee behaviour? Or how do you make chimpanzee behaviour human?Do you really need to have a definition for murder? — Brett
Do you really need to have a definition for murder?
— Brett
Yes, if I'm to understand what you're talking about. — tim wood
But you seem to think it's ridiculously simple and easy — tim wood
Murder is defined as "the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another." — Hanover
As the definition of murder goes, murder is an unlawful killing of another person, just as Hanover remarked already. — ssu
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