--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: (At least one theory suggests that while…" description: "\"“(At least one theory suggests that while great apes and adult Humans are sentient, young Human children are not. I admit to a certain fondness for thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/peter-watts-4020_apes_at-least-one-theory-suggests-that-while_1906398.png" --- # (At least one theory suggests that while great apes and… ![“(At least one theory suggests that while great apes and adult Humans are sentient, young Human children are not. I admit to a certain fondness for this conclusion; if childen aren't nonsentient, they're certainly psychopathic)” quote by Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/peter-watts-4020_apes_at-least-one-theory-suggests-that-while_1906398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/peter-watts-4020_apes_at-least-one-theory-suggests-that-while_1906398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/peter-watts-4020_apes_at-least-one-theory-suggests-that-while_1906398.png) > ““(At least one theory suggests that while great apes and adult Humans are sentient, young Human children are not. I admit to a certain fondness for this conclusion; if childen aren't nonsentient, they're certainly psychopathic)”” [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A hypothesis suggests adult humans and great apes are sentient, while young children may lack sentience, implying a possible psychopathic nature if they are sentient. **In simple terms:** Theory: adult humans and apes are sentient; children may not be, raising ethical concerns. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about child sentience. Themes ethics development sentience Mood provocative skeptical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - parenting debates - legal rights - educational curricula Key Concepts philosophy psychology neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or refutes child sentience? - How would society change if children were non‑sentient? A Different Perspective The claim is controversial and lacks empirical support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Apes Adult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes-adult-2843921/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conclusion Childen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion-childen-2843920/) [Human Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-children-792936/) [Sentient Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentient-young-2843922/) ## Related quotes > [Amory Lovins says the primary design criteria he uses is the question How do we love all the children? Not just our children, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/starhawk/amory-lovins-says-the-primary-design-criteria-he-uses-is-the-question/) [Starhawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/starhawk/) > [Black women, white women- all of them. I'm colorblind. I don't know the difference. I only know you're a human being and you're my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moms-mabley/black-women-white-women-all-of-them-i-m-colorblind-i-don-t-know-the/) [Moms Mabley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moms-mabley/) > [“Human beings -- human children especially -- seldom deny themselves the pleasure of exercising a power which they are conscious of possessing, even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/human-beings-human-children-especially-seldom-deny-themselves-the/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Human children, on the other hand, are inherently cooperative. From the earliest ages, they desire to help others, to share information and to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/human-children-on-the-other-hand-are-inherently-cooperative-from-the/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [There was no name for the disease; his body had gone insane, forgotten the blueprint by which human beings were built. Even now the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/there-was-no-name-for-the-disease-his-body-had-gone-insane-forgotten/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I am not going to condemn anybody. That's where religion gets a bad name, when people get holier than thou. We are all human.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-osmond/i-am-not-going-to-condemn-anybody-that-s-where-religion-gets-a-bad/) [Donny Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-osmond/) > [“Bedtime makes you realize how completely incapable you are of being in charge of another human being. My children act like they've never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/bedtime-makes-you-realize-how-completely-incapable-you-are-of-being/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [One cannot watch chimpanzee infants for long without realizing that they have the same emotional need for affection and reassurance as human children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/one-cannot-watch-chimpanzee-infants-for-long-without-realizing-that/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“So often, children are punished for being human. Children are not allowed to have grumpy moods, bad days, disrespectful tones, or bad attitudes, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-eanes/so-often-children-are-punished-for-being-human-children-are-not/) [Rebecca Eanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-eanes/) > [You cannot be a famous human being to your children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-baggio/you-cannot-be-a-famous-human-being-to-your-children/) [Roberto Baggio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-baggio/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) [J. Lee Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lee-thompson/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More by Peter Watts > [People aren't rational. We're not thinking machines, we're - we're feeling machines that happen to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/people-aren-t-rational-we-re-not-thinking-machines-we-re-we-re/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“You are all sleepwalkers, whether climbing creative peaks or slogging through some mundane routine for the thousandth time. You are all sleepwalkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/you-are-all-sleepwalkers-whether-climbing-creative-peaks-or-slogging/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Evolution has no foresight. Complex machinery develops its own agendas. Brains — cheat. Feedback loops evolve to promote stable heartbeats and then stumble upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/evolution-has-no-foresight-complex-machinery-develops-its-own-agendas/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“The Zodiac had rearranged itself into a precise grid of bright points with luminous tails. It was as though the whole planet had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-zodiac-had-rearranged-itself-into-a-precise-grid-of-bright-points/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [There's no such things as survival of the fittest. Survival of the most adequate, maybe. It doesn't matter whether a solution's optimal. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/there-s-no-such-things-as-survival-of-the-fittest-survival-of-the/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“So much anger in here. So much hate. So much to take out on someone. This time it's going to count. She's adrift in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/so-much-anger-in-here-so-much-hate-so-much-to-take-out-on-someone/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [The most altruistic and sustainable philosophies fail before the brute brain stem imperative of self-interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-most-altruistic-and-sustainable-philosophies-fail-before-the/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“I brought her flowers one dusky Tuesday evening when the light was perfect. I pointed out the irony of that romantic old tradition— the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-brought-her-flowers-one-dusky-tuesday-evening-when-the-light-was/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Ludzie naprawdę nie walczą o odcień skóry czy ideologię – to tylko wygodne wskazówki do identyfikacji „swoich”. Wyszystko zawsze sprowadza się do więzów krwi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/ludzie-naprawd-nie-walcz-o-odcie-sk-ry-czy-ideologi-to-tylko-wygodne/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [I really wanted to talk to her. I just couldn't find an algorithm that fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-really-wanted-to-talk-to-her-i-just-couldn-t-find-an-algorithm-that/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“I know your race and mine are never on the best of terms." There was a cold smile in his voice if not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/i-know-your-race-and-mine-are-never-on-the-best-of-terms-there-was-a/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [If believing absurd falsehoods increase the odds of getting laid or avoiding predators, your brain will believe those falsehoods with all its metaphorical little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/if-believing-absurd-falsehoods-increase-the-odds-of-getting-laid-or/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [We are not thinking machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/we-are-not-thinking-machines/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“The math was irrefutable: The one winning strategy was concealment. Only fools revealed their birthdays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/the-math-was-irrefutable-the-one-winning-strategy-was-concealment/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [“Hey, chaotic trajectories are just as deterministic as any other kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/hey-chaotic-trajectories-are-just-as-deterministic-as-any-other-kind/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) [Explore all 112 Peter Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) [J. Lee Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lee-thompson/) > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“(At least one theory suggests that while great apes and adult Humans are sentient, young Human children are not. 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