Counterargument

Francine and Wendy Gordon have been working extensively with gorillas. They believe that Gorillas understand spoken English and understand sign. They are able to prove this through multiple tests given to the gorillas; this includes the Assessment of Children's Language Comprehension and IQ tests. Although Francine and Gordon have made a valid argument, it is evident that monkey's cannot express virginal thought and creativity at the same level as humans. Koko, the exceptionally smart monkey, was presented with a mirror test; I failed. In the mirror test, Koko's brow was marked and it failed to remove the mark. Francine and Gordon proposed that this could be due to its age, social situations, or lack of motivation. Also, the theory was proposed that Koko was inhibited by the presence of unfamiliar observers. This theory proves incorrect. Koko was old enough to take a test which parallels a study given to children from five to thirteen. Koko, in fact, did very well. Since this is true, age does not play a role in the failure of Koko. The lack of motivation proves untrue because Koko did try to take off the mark but failed. Finally, Francine and Gordon proposed that "it may have been the gorillas' very capacity for self-consciousness that prevented them from exhibiting behaviors indicative of self-recognition in the test situation..." Since they have proved Koko's intelligence and characteristics similar to a child, it is obvious this theory is wrong. Children are not easily embarrassed because they have not yet developed the wherewithal of embarrassment. Children would not care if adults were present to take away a mark. Even though Francine and Gordon strive to prove gorillas are similar to humans, it is evident that they cannot express creativity at the same level.

The relationship between the authors' theses and the various test conducted are evident. Obviously, they are stating that with