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At what point does communication become a language?
Whales, and for that matter, octopus and squid, have demonstrated incredible levels of intelligence.
So, they can communicate, demonstrate problem-solving intelligence beyond instinctive behaviors, and are possessed of emotion. Other than tool use, what standard for 'sentient/sapient' don't they meet?
Still, though, if there's a demand, I really can't blame the whalers. They probably make a nice mint off of it.
There is also a demand for illegal narcotics and the people selling those make a nice mint as well.
First of all, emotion my foot. I've never seen or heard of any instance of anything short of a chimpanzee displaying actual emotion, and those instances are questionable. Also, what really strikes me as the critical conditions for being sentient/sapient is rational thought and self-awareness. Neither of these has been demonstrated in whales or dolphins, or monkeys, or anything short of humans.
Do NOT get me started on the drug war. I could easily turn this thread into a vicious debate. I'll just leave it at this. As long as you aren't harming anyone else in any way, you have every right to be stupid and smoke pot. I don't care, nor does anyone else. The same applies to every other drug that some people are stupid/pathetic enought to use. It's your body, nobody gives a crap as long as you don't drive while you're high.
Another big difference. People aren't getting KILLED over illegal whaling, are they? Heck, the whaling isn't even illegal.
I still say, arrest the enviro-whackos and end the insanity. They meet, beyond any doubt, the qualifications for "criminal."
Random thought, I've never seen an octopus described as really smart. I know they're pretty clever, but then they have to be to get at their prey. Same as chimps with termites.
Actually, in regards to self awareness, you are mistaken. Chimpanzees and dolphins have been shown to recognize themselves. Apes can learn and communicate in sign language, and when they do so they often describe emotions and desires (fear, want,love),. Some apes have pets that they treat with affection, like you might a your own pet. Pigs have shown to recognize themselves in mirrors and are capable of solving cognitive tasks that 3 year old children cannot. Sentient thought or rational thought has been demonstrated in many species, pigs are only one of many animals who have shown the ability for complex reasoning and problem solving. Octopus are smart enough to be advanced problem solvers, as have squid. Some squid are capable of solving complex mazes. Many other species have been shown to play games and share culture, or traditional ways of doing things which are learned and not instinctive. Crows play games. It has also been demonstrated that animals have emotions, and that having emotions are adaptive to survival. In fact, an animal that lacked emotions would die. That is probably the root cause of the development of emotions in our ancient ancestors. Thier is some debate as to the complexity of animal emotions, but the basic emotions we have are found in most animals.
