<< (both are suggestions are wrong -- it
should actually be sapient).>>
Hey! Now, sapient is a fine word, but whether 'it' should actually be sapient.....depends on....... what 'it' is! If 'it' is 'sentient,' 'it' shouldn't be 'sapient.' Same with rational. It's a different 'it' than is sapient. (Did the word 'rational' actually enter into our earlier discussion? I don't recall it, though it might well have.)
The exercise here has been to come to an agreement about what the 'it' we are talking about is.
So now we have the fun, for those who care to join in the having of it, of deciding not only whether bees are sentient or not, or mindful or not, but also whether they are wise.
Speaking of which, what a coincidence: I'm sure I've never in my life used the word 'mindful' as an adjective describing an insect; but mere hours after I did that in my earlier post today, I go out to pick up the NYT, and what is headline of the lead piece in the Science Times, an article about ants? -- "Mindless Creatures, Acting 'Mindfully'."!
Here's a link to the article online. I haven't yet read it. I am so behind on this thread, that someone may already have posted it. If so, sorry for the repetition. It looks interesting, and so do the links to three related articles.
nytimes.com |
