CoreCats

Here is something for you to think about from Slashdot:
Should Dolphins Be Treated As Non-Human Persons?
| from the as-long-as-cows-are-still-treated-as-delicious dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday January 07, @17:18 (Science)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/01/07/2138225/Should-Dolphins-Be-Treated-As-Non-Human-Persons?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Dolphins have long been recognized as among the
most intelligent of animals, but now the Times reports that a series of
behavioral studies suggest that dolphins, especially species such as the
bottlenose, have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self, can
think about the future and [1]are so bright that they should be treated
as 'non-human persons.' 'Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and
second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,'
says Lori Marino, a zoologist at Emory University. 'The neuroanatomy
suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins and has
profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions.' For
example, one study found that [2]dolphins can recognize their image in a
mirror as a reflection of themselves — a finding that indicates
self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants.
Other studies have found that dolphins are capable of advanced cognitive
abilities such as problem-solving, artificial language comprehension, and
complex social behavior, indicating that dolphins are far more
intellectually and emotionally sophisticated than previously thought.
Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University, has
written a series of [3]academic studies suggesting dolphins should have
rights, claiming that the current relationship between humans and
dolphins is, in effect, equivalent to the relationship between whites and
black slaves two centuries ago."

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/01/07/2138225/Should-Dolphins-Be-Treated-As-Non-Human-Persons?from=newsletter#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece
2. http://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2010/webprogram/Session1526.html
3. http://www.indefenseofdolphins.com/book/index.html