# When you look at people do you see an ape? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 2, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540 "2007-05-02T22:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/21 "2007-05-03T17:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] A more immediately identifiable and impossible to refute demonstration of our essential primate nature, I have yet to discover. [/QUOTE] šŸ˜ƒ I like to watch people picking fuzz or lint off one anotherā€™s shirts or out of their hair. It just looks so much like chimps grooming one another, it makes me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/22 "2007-05-03T17:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sailboat] Weā€™re not just _ape-related_ animals, we _are_ apes, if the term has any real meaning. We are closer to chimpanzees than they are to gorillas ā€“ [we basically are a species of chimpanzee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Chimpanzee) ā€“ and so any taxonomic term that lumps together chimps and gorillas must include us. Of course _in common usage_ ā€œapesā€ does not include humans, but thatā€™s a result of our blind spots and self-image problems, not based on any science. [/QUOTE] You can play that game all day long. Weā€™re really just a lobed finned fish because weā€™re more closely related to certain lobed finned fish than they are to trout. But if anything, Chimps are a species of us. \*Homo \*came before _Pan_ (in the taxonomic naming sense), so precedence would favor the former genus over the latter. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/23 "2007-05-03T17:35:53Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Primate? [/QUOTE] No. The OP is trying to come up with something that names us, and only us, as animals. Primate is much too broad. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/24 "2007-05-03T23:38:13Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] No. The OP is trying to come up with something that names us, and only us, as animals. Primate is much too broad. [/QUOTE] How about ā€œHumatesā€ or ā€œPrimunsā€? Most times when I look at my palms I think, ā€œThese are monkey hands.ā€ and then I smile on the inside. That thought brings me peace. Whenever life gets hard I can console myself with the thought that I am just some random monkey monkeying my way through life just like the rest of the monkeys. šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/25 "2007-05-04T00:11:35Z")
But are you the [Proudest Monkey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1vswHrA0c)? šŸ†’ ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/26 "2007-05-04T00:23:31Z")
I think about this quite frequently when observing a group of individuals or I am in heavy traffic. It is really kind of humorous to think of these little games we play, pretending not to be animals. A similar kind of thought I always get when observing a classroom is that all these people have these organs in their heads with these huge egos controlling all their actions. So much power and feeling in this little bit of organic material, that at the same time is so fragile. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/27 "2007-05-04T12:33:09Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] However, what is the word that sounds like us but has a different meaning? [/QUOTE] Bus? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/28 "2007-05-04T12:41:07Z")
I know that when I look at the Archbishop of Canterbury, I see a primate. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/29 "2007-05-04T13:29:32Z")
I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of contrary argument here. No one claimed humans are not animals or elevated them with an injection of mystical qualities. Pleasantly surprised. Ook, ook, ook. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/30 "2007-05-04T16:49:00Z")
[QUOTE=the PC apeman] I am pleasantly surprised at the lack of contrary argument here. No one claimed humans are not animals or elevated them with an injection of mystical qualities. Pleasantly surprised. [/QUOTE] Iā€™ve always considered us a kind of plant, really. Err. A mystical plant. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/31 "2007-05-04T17:10:04Z")
When I see a pretty girl ,I think ,thereā€™s the gorilla my dreams. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/32 "2007-05-04T17:25:00Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Iā€™ve always considered us a kind of plant, really. Err. A mystical plant. [/QUOTE] Too bad weā€™ve lost our chloroplasts. Then I could sit in the sun instead of preparing a lunch. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/33 "2007-05-04T20:01:20Z")
When there are a lot of them, I tend to think of cows. But no, I definitely donā€™t see an ape. I think it would damage my social life tremendously if I did (not that thereā€™s much to damage). ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/34 "2007-05-04T21:40:05Z")
A link to this book is needed here. > **[The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal: Morris, Desmond:...](https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303)** > > Buy The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal on Amazon.com āœ“ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/35 "2007-05-04T22:28:19Z")
Yes I do ā€˜seeā€™ us as apes, often followed by hilarious outlooks (e.g. gaggles of women, gangs of guys with their alpha tough man, and really any group interaction). ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/36 "2007-05-05T03:59:12Z")
I see people as ā€œanimalsā€ right before I pop a cap in their ass. It helps with the dehumanizing process. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/37 "2007-05-05T14:42:20Z")
[QUOTE=gladtobeblazed] I see people as ā€œanimalsā€ right before I pop a cap in their ass. It helps with the dehumanizing process. [/QUOTE] This was not nearly as funny as I am sure it seemed to you after your second or third forty. Please give serious consideration to my [comments in this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8540126&postcount=31). [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/38 "2007-05-07T13:18:22Z")
[QUOTE=h.ergaster] How often do we notice people are actually animals instead of, well, people. I donā€™t mean that in an insulting way. I accept evolution and that we are related to the great apes. Iā€™m curious, the average person relates to ā€œpeopleā€ as individual characters. They donā€™t ā€œseeā€ 6 primates standing in a shop. When I look at another species like a dog, I ā€œseeā€ a dog rather than an individual. I assume when a dog meets another dog they see a individual character, are we just reacting the same way to ā€œpeopleā€? [/QUOTE] An interesting question. Pet owners see their dogs as individuals. Native americans often named animals and even birds they frequently encountered. I believe the best way I have heard this described is: When you look at someone do you see the frame or the picture inside the frame which would be the personality. In spirituality one is taught to look beyond the body into the being within. It involves discernment of the world around you. The more you are able to connect with individuals instead of masses the more aware you become. It leads to knowledge and wisdom of life. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/39 "2007-05-07T18:25:44Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > We could use the term ā€œHomininā€. > > > [@tomndebb](#): > > > > However, what is the word that sounds like us but has a different meaning? Perhaps ā€œad hominemā€, considering our predilection to appealing to oneā€™s prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to oneā€™s intellect or reason. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540/40 "2007-05-07T18:55:57Z")
Jill Greenbergā€™s [Monkey Portraits](http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/greenberg/index2.htm) make me see monkeys as very human. Some of Spencer Tunickā€™s [photos](http://www.i-20.com/artists/) make me see humans as animals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-look-at-people-do-you-see-an-ape/402540.md?page=3)