@GrinningBobcat Just set aside that WW2 because I fear this thread will be locked from talking of the events.
As for the animal discussion... The video is an experiment, meaning it's going to give results we have to interpret. If a human is capable of thought, communication, expression, memory, and recognition what's stopping animals? We can't read their thoughts so what's to say they don't wonder about their origins? What's to say they don't try and understand US, the strangers to them. When a person sees themselves and associate the image they see with themselves is that not self-consciousness? I feel you didn't bother to watch the video due to the title but this is genuine.
Interpretation is also not anything factual, it's entirely opinionated. And genuine or not, it doesn't prove the point I am making. If you do a little more research that isn't directed exactly at the outcome you want and you'll see unbiased research. And there have been plenty of studies to solve whether animals can have deep thoughts. Some are to a degree aware of themselves, but there requires a higher brain function to think critically. And I don't mean instinctual or survivalistic problem solving like using rocks or twigs to open food and things like that. I mean critical thinking, deep-seated thought processes that are not evident in animal brains. There's a lot stopping animals from being higher creatures like humans. They are limited by their brains which are all underdeveloped in comparison to a human one. Or, throw science aside for a second, and just take the observation that humans are the dominant beings on the earth and despite what the "Plant of the Apes" movies told us, monkeys will never grow to our level of intelligence and be equal to us in brain capacity and power. But believe what you want, cause there will always be people out there trying to prove otherwise. So no matter how long this goes on for, there will be people backing both of our points up. Lets just leave it at that and move on, cause nothing good is going to come out of this particular discussion.
@GrinningBobcat I'm going to edit the first comment so that people have to state any potential bias they have before discussing anything.
Example of bias: I have a christian-influenced background but I am no agnostic (Means you don't know if their is a god[s] and won't deny the possibility of there being any). I come from a lower middle class Hispanic family from Puerto Rico but a couple generations back my family's bloodline is from Spain. I am a realist that's varies in optimism meaning sometimes I've got faith in humanity and sometimes I feel like we're all doomed. I believe in the existence of evolution but as for human's origins involving evolution I won't deny the possibility of it being wrong but I still favor it since it makes sense. I have little else to say so that's it.
Good way to break rules if we start talking about different kinds of religions and belief systems. I advice not doing so, unless it's just a general outlook on life. And our bias shouldn't have anything to do with a thread about discussing different views of things. Everyone has a bias and pinpointing it will just allow others to brush off certain views because they don't agree with or like someone's "bias." As long as the claim is legitimate, they have no reason to announce their personal beliefs if they don't want to.
