Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Has any gorilla ever attacked another, saying you are just a HUMAN?

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From New Scientist, where else?

As a pioneer in the science of developmental psychology, Kagan has an interesting angle. A life spent investigating how a fertilised egg develops into an adult human being provides him with a rich understanding of the mind and how it differs from that of our closest animal cousins.

Human and chimpanzee infants behave in remarkably similar ways for the first four to six months, Kagan notes. It is only during the second year of life that we begin to diverge profoundly. As the toddler’s frontal lobes expand and the connections between the brain sites increase, the human starts to develop the talents that set our species apart. These include “the ability to speak a symbolic language, infer the thoughts and feelings of others, understand the meaning of a prohibited action, and become conscious of their own feelings, intentions and actions”.

Every mother has watched a child suddenly …  It happened for me when my kid, 2 years old, said a complete sentence:  Kitty got no hands.  Yes, it was true. Kitty got claws, for sure, no hands.

Or else it doesn’t happen. Then begins the round of trips to institutions that help with the developmentally delayed.

And THAT is where humanity matters. Where humanity really matters is when we are called on to do something for those who cannot help themselves.

Comments
Barb. Well it comes done to the equation of whether the intelligence of people is in our spiritual soul(not a part of the physical machine) OR is intelligence in the parts of our body. our brain. I am confident all humans are as intelligent IN THINKING as any person. its only acquired knowledge etc that separates us. No i don't play a instrument but yes i could master them all. So could everyone. Yes I can be smarter then everyone but so can everyone else. its just applying oneself. Our intelligence as people is entirely, I say, in our thinking ability as souls made in Gods image as a thinking being. So its impossible to be in any way related to what is called the brain. Except in the common part of biology called memory. This is the thing we must nurture and use and the only thing that breaks down and interferes with peoples thinking ability. The bible really does does say we will think in the afterlife and no need for present parts. There is no evidence our brain is related to our thinking. its just a presumption never investigated on the presumption. this is why healing retardations, autisms, depressions, and so on is SO behind other things in science.Robert Byers
June 18, 2013
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Robert @ 5:
Barb’ Well I don’t think prodigy kids are anything more then well memorizing people. Their memory might be so better then beat adults buts its just memory. Not thinking ability is better. Anyone can master any instrument. No big deal.
Not necessarily just memory is involved in learning to play a musical instrument, Robert. You are using muscles in your body to physically make the instrument play the notes as well as remembering what the notes are or what the tempo should be. Trivializing it by saying that "anybody" can do it doesn't add anything to your argument. Can you play a musical instrument?
I mean our soul can not change its essence as a fantastic thinking being. There can be no addition or deduction from us as a thinking being.
Not sure what you mean here; we can and do learn new things all the time. That would be considered an addition to our mental capacity as a thinking being, right?
Acquiring knowledge etc is another thing. Yet it doesn’t make us think better or rather smarter in thinking ability.
Yes, it does. Your statements are contradictory.
The human brain is unrelated to our thinking or intelligence. Its a dumb machine as it were. JUst a middleman between us and our bodies save in the memory department.
Our thinking and our memories come from the brain.
There is no difference between any living human being and another in our intelligence as souls.
So, you are just as intelligent as Stephen Hawking? I seriously doubt that.
All difference in intelligence is from what our soul learns but not in tthe ability to think. Any interference is from free will or memory triggering problems I say.
What you say has little relevance here. What is relevant are the facts about the brain that you ignore.
You believe in the soul, I understand, but you are thinking our brain is affecting our soul’s thinking. you are turning out thinking into a machine with parts. So you accept failure/greater ability of these parts relative to the person.
I believe that humans are souls, and that their intelligence is stored in their brains. This intelligence can be increased if the person desires to learn something new.
The bible says otherwise. No brain is relevant. Just a tool for the soul.
The Bible states that the soul that is sinning will die. Ezekiel 18:4. The Bible also tells us to seek out knowledge because it serves as a protection for us. See the first and second chapters of Proverbs.Barb
June 17, 2013
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Barb' Well I don't think prodigy kids are anything more then well memorizing people. Their memory might be so better then beat adults buts its just memory. Not thinking ability is better. Anyone can master any instrument. No big deal. I mean our soul can not change its essence as a fantastic thinking being. There can be no addition or deduction from us as a thinking being. Acquiring knowledge etc is another thing. Yet it doesn't make us think better or rather smarter in thinking ability. The human brain is unrelated to our thinking or intelligence. Its a dumb machine as it were. JUst a middleman between us and our bodies save in the memory department. There is no difference between any living human being and another in our intelligence as souls. All difference in intelligence is from what our soul learns but not in tthe ability to think. Any interference is from free will or memory triggering problems I say. You believe in the soul, I understand, but you are thinking our brain is affecting our soul's thinking. you are turning out thinking into a machine with parts. So you accept failure/greater ability of these parts relative to the person. The bible says otherwise. No brain is relevant. Just a tool for the soul.Robert Byers
June 17, 2013
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Robert @ 3:
I mean prodigy kids in doing the prodigy thing are boring. Its just ordinary stuff adults do. people are impressed because of a presumption kids are not smart enough to do these things. In reality they all are. the only difference, i say, is having provoked their memory better then the other kids. Demographics mostly behind that.
No, the reason child prodigies are impressive is that they (children) are doing things that most adults cannot do. Even if an adult can do it, the child is doing it at a level equal to or above the level of the adult. Let's say it takes 10 years to master a musical instrument. A child masters it in 3-5 years, an adult in 10. That's what's impressive. There are many gifted children, but a true prodigy is rare.
I mean kids are brilliant as thinking beings once conceived/borned. Yet they are in effect severally retarded for the reason behind retardation. Interference with the memory. I am insisting retardation, autisms, etc are all the result of a single problem. Interference with the triggering mechanism for memory. So its just a large spectrum.
Your insistence makes no sense. A baby just born does not have memories that it can use to relate to the outside world. It create memories as it grows and develops. You can think whatever you like, but the facts disagree.
My whole point is that humans being souls can not have any change to their souls ability to think. so its all non soul stuff that goes wrong with human thinking. This being only the memory or some species of knock out.
Brain chemistry isn't easy to understand. Scientists who've studied the brain for years still aren't sure how or why certain connections are made. I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you state that humans cannot have any change to their soul's ability to think; the human brain can, and is, being rewired all the time. It happens when we learn new things, such as playing an instrument, driving a car, or putting together a puzzle.
Therefore in NO way do i agree the brain grows in the mother or afterward relative to intelligence. People do not have genetic markers for language or music or anything i say.
You should read a basic anatomy and physiology textbook sometime. The development of the brain begins in the womb, whether you like it or not. The development of the brain continues outside the womb as well. I don't know that there are genetic markers for language or music. I do know people who have musical talent that their parents had, so maybe it's acquired.
Language and music are just sounds used to express thoughts.
And some people learn these things better than others. Language differentiates humans from animals. The fact that humans appreciate music also differentiates them from animals.
Christians can no more believe, after understanding the point, in peoples brains being a part of out intellect then we can believe we are descended from apes. The bible makes this clear.
The Bible makes it clear that we're created in God's image and gifted with free will as well as knowledge and understanding of the concepts of love, justice, and wisdom.Barb
June 15, 2013
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I mean prodigy kids in doing the prodigy thing are boring. Its just ordinary stuff adults do. people are impressed because of a presumption kids are not smart enough to do these things. In reality they all are. the only difference, i say, is having provoked their memory better then the other kids. Demographics mostly behind that. I mean kids are brilliant as thinking beings once conceived/borned. Yet they are in effect severally retarded for the reason behind retardation. Interference with the memory. I am insisting retardation, autisms, etc are all the result of a single problem. Interference with the triggering mechanism for memory. So its just a large spectrum. My whole point is that humans being souls can not have any change to their souls ability to think. so its all non soul stuff that goes wrong with human thinking. This being only the memory or some species of knock out. Therefore in NO way do i agree the brain grows in the mother or afterward relative to intelligence. People do not have genetic markers for language or music or anything i say. Language and music are just sounds used to express thoughts. Christians can no more believe, after understanding the point, in peoples brains being a part of out intellect then we can believe we are descended from apes. The bible makes this clear.Robert Byers
June 15, 2013
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Robert, what are you talking about? You write, Kids are not like chimps until a few years. They are brilliant. And then you write this: The only thing with kids is that their memory has not advanced. They are severally retarded in effect. Mental retardation is an outdated term used to describe anyone with a learning disability, whether that is Down syndrome, dyslexia, autism, or any other intellectual disability. How, exactly, does a child go from being "brilliant" to being "severelly retarded" simply based on memory? Which, I might add, has nothing to do with the diagnosis of retardation? Children cannot "think" and reason as adults do; that much is obvious. Brain development begins in the womb, where the developing baby registers perceptions from its watery environment; hears, tastes, senses light, reacts to touch, learns, and remembers. The mother’s emotions can affect it. Brain development continues rapidly after birth. In two years a baby learns a complex language, just by being exposed to it. If it hears two languages, it learns them both. If three are spoken, it learns all three. Language is only one example of abilities genetically programmed into baby brains. Musical and artistic abilities, muscular coordination, the need for meaning and purpose, conscience and moral values, altruism and love, faith and the urge to worship—all depend on specialized systems in the brain. (See Acts 17:27.) In other words, genetically established networks of neurons are specially preprogrammed to be receptive to the development of these and other abilities and potentials. Then Robert goes on:
Prodigy kids are boring and won’t do better in life because they simply do what adults. No big deal.
Children who are prodigies generally do better in life, period. They do have special skills that translate into adulthood. It's your opinion that they're boring.Barb
June 14, 2013
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I wouldn't let this Kagan cook my eggs for breakfast either. His comment is just typical of the inferiority of these people who get paid to investigate these subjects. Kids are not like chimps until a few years. They are brilliant. They are made in gods image and think as well as any human being. Chiumps are dumb animals and think no more then rats. The only thing with kids is that their memory has not advanced. They are severally retarded in effect. Thats what retardation is. Memory interference with resulting learning slowness. No lobes and no connections are relevant. Save perhaps in moter ability. Perhaps. This is why their are child prodigy's in subjects dealing with memory. like music or games etc etc. They are simply kids whose memories have been provoked quicker. Probably by the demographics they live in or possibly done by themselves. Prodigy kids are boring and won't do better in life because they simply do what adults. No big deal. Only a big deal because of the presumption kids are dumber. Yet its just about memory and these kids memory was more quickly applied.Robert Byers
June 13, 2013
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