Observations from film watched in class

I found it interesting that one guy made a comment about language being closely tied to consciousness, as it gives us the ability to have thoughts of our thoughts? Would we not be able to examine our thoughts if we didn't have a language? I know that quite frequently I have a thought that I am able to comprehend without being able to put it into words. One might suggest I am not really able to comprehend it, or as well as I think, if I cannot put it into words, but I think this is bullshit. Our consciousness has the ability to take the objective world in and make sense of it without explaining to itself (in words) what it is that it is entertaining. We see this in animals. Surely those animals that are able to comprehend some of their surroundings (i.e. the ability to remember the need for a tool to crack a nut open) is done without the animal talking in the type of language that is implied (built on a foundation of words with attributed meanings). Its consciousness is communicating to itself, but in a way that is beyond words.

In one experiment it was suggested that the chimp being tested was able to know what was in a human's mind. The chimp knew that a key was needed to open a box, and it knew that the guy wanted to open the box, and therefore showed the guy where they key was put. I just needed to type (think) this out to understand what was meant by claiming the chimp knew what was in the human's mind. Though it is likely the chimp only knew this through repitition, because the whole experiment was around the box being opened. The chimp always knew that the second man that came into the room would open the box, because that is what the man always did. Therefore this knowledge was drilled in the chimp's mind through repitition. What useful information does this tell us about a chimp's mind? Such experiments seem to be a waste of energy and resources.

As was mentioned in the film, I think it is most fascinating to know that nonhuman animal minds are different and unique from each other and from humans, andit is unnecessary to think of them as or prove them to be deficient human minds. Experimenting with them may do nothing but allow us to marvel when they might show they are capable of something we were unsure they were capable of and at the difference from humans. We should already treat all living beings with respect and fulfill obligations to them when able, and not have to understand their consciousness more before we do so.