Man: the only owner of intelligence?

2001/10/16 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Eboluzioa

The
ability to abstract more animals than we think, can once again question the evolution of the human mind and the border that separates Homo sapiens from other species.

On this occasion they have seen in the baboons the capacity of abstraction. This may have important implications, as experts have classified the common branch in which 30 million years ago monkeys were separated from humans. In fact, chimpanzees belonging to the group of monkeys can also be abstracted.

To analyze this, they have conducted tests that require analog reasoning, since many scientists have considered this type of reasoning as the origin of reasoning and human intelligence. They have been placed in front of a computer to select the corresponding image. The babuinos have had to relate the images to each other in exercises like "this is what corresponds to him, this as it corresponds".

The abstraction capacity of the baboons forces experts to study other species, since they believe that the analog mind and its precursors will be found in many other animal species.