[extropy-chat] Spanish Socialists consider giving apes human-level rights

[Martin Striz]

On 4/27/06, Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:
> While the great apes are near enough genetically that I believe they should
> not be abused in any way it is sheer nonsense to claim they are equals or
> that they have the same rights as human beings.

It would be a mistake to use genetic similarity as a metric of
rights-bearing consciousness, since it's not what's in your toolbox so
much as how you use it.  Dolphins are genetically less similar to
humans than, say, dogs, but they should be held in higher moral
regard.

You have to determine the level of consciousness, which can be
difficult because right now it's done indirectly, but it's necessary.

Martin