Are dolphins as intelligent as human beings?.
There are many theories about intelligence. For instance, Charles Darwin, created a theory to detect intelligence based on the ability of species to do whatever the y need to survive and their level of efficiency. Other theories would say that the key to intelligence is communication. A psychiatrist and ecologist, Sterling Bunnel, says that humor is also a sign of great intelligence. I will use these statements to compare the intelligence of dolphins with the intelligence of human beings.
What is difficult about this comparison is, that humans and dolphins belong to two different environments and also are very different species. If comparisons between diverse human ethnic groups are hard to make, it seems hardly possible to compare dolphins with men.
A dolphin's brain is larger than a man's. this means that dolphin's brains are the biggests on earth. But size is less important than the way the brain is structured. We humans have our brains divided into two hemispheres and they're also divided into three lobes: the rhino lobe, the limbic lobe and the supralimbic lobe. So far, dolphins and humans are alike, but dolphins have a fourth lobe, the paralimbic, in which all senses are located. The good thing about having all senses together in one lobe ( opposing to humans, who have all senses separate from each other) is that a dolphin's perception is more complex.
Humor and playfulness suggest great intelligence is because only the ones who have completed their obligations to survive day by day, are the only ones who have time to play. Dolphins have proved to be humorous and playful, and playing sometimes refers as having sexual intercourse. Dolphins, besides humans are the only species which can have intercourse for pleasure and not just with reproduction purposes.
Dolphins can talk among themselves. It's suggested that dolphins seem to be smiling most of the time because they understand our language and want us to learn theirs.
Their extraordinary abilities and their incredible intelligence easily win people's hearts. ... Dolphins are known to dive as deep as 300m. ... Dolphins clearly have active minds. ... Dolphins' bulging foreheads hint at large-brain intelligence. ... Their distinctive appearance, extraordinary abilities, and their amazing intelligence is the reason why more and more people want to come closer to them. ...
Adult male dolphins display aggressive behavior toward other male dolphins as well as to calves. ... Although all groups of dolphins are essentially social, not all dolphins are. Some dolphins travel and live alone. ... Bottlenose dolphins in particular often mate with other species of dolphins. ... Most authorities, however, agree that although the dolphin's problem-solving abilities put the animal on an intelligence level close to that of primates, no evidence exists that dolphin communications approach the complexity of a true language. ...
Adult male dolphins display aggressive behavior toward other male dolphins as well as to calves. ... Although all groups of dolphins are essentially social, not all dolphins are. Some dolphins travel and live alone. ... Bottlenose dolphins in particular often mate with other species of dolphins. ... Most authorities, however, agree that although the dolphin's problem-solving abilities put the animal on an intelligence level close to that of primates, no evidence exists that dolphin communications approach the complexity of a true language. ...
Not to mention that the idea of species evolving into a more intelligent life is very possible, as seen within dolphins on Earth. A study of the fossils of dolphins and toothed whales from the last 50 million years indicates that some species have dramatically increased their intelligence (as estimated by the ratio of brain to body mass). ... The answer lies with the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) organization. ...
There are many biological and characteristic distinctions that can be made between humans and other animals, such as the level of intelligence, but it would be difficult to decide where the line must be drawn between them. Certain animals, such as dolphins, possess intelligence and communicative skills similar to those of humans. Since there is not enough of a difference between humans and dolphins, we would likely need to grant them similar rights. ... It could be argued that some species of animals do possess those mentioned traits, such as with the dolphin, the beaver that builds his dam...
In her book, Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? ... Because striped dolphins usually live and die far from any shores, the plague that hit the dolphins living in the Mediterranean Sea in the early 1990's was well under way before anyone realized what was happening. Examinations of the dead dolphins showed collapsed lungs, breathing difficulties, and abnormal movement and behavior. ...
Even the smartest animals (besides humans) like dolphins and chimpanzees have their limitations. ... Animals are worthy of moral consideration because they have the intelligence enough to be domesticated, can feel emotions such as pain and happiness, can care about the well-being of others, and play a critical role in the circle of life. ...
As science has shown, whales have large brains and a high level of intelligence that makes them similar to dolphins and humans. ... Comparing the whales' highly emotional intelligence to humans' feelings proves that whales know exactly what is happening to them. ...