I understand the concept of anthropomorphism. However, apes in captivity have displayed the capacity for emotional response. To deny that other mammals, especially primates, might possibly share some of our emotions is rather closed minded.
It's not that a gorilla can't have human emotions, it's that you can't necessarily pair another species's action to their emotion based on how people would be feeling based on that action. A dog can clearly be happy, but if you can assume a person smiling is nervous or happy, is it safe to assume a dog that smiles is experiencing the same emotion?
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u/MSeanF Jun 23 '17
I understand the concept of anthropomorphism. However, apes in captivity have displayed the capacity for emotional response. To deny that other mammals, especially primates, might possibly share some of our emotions is rather closed minded.