Do you believe being gay is a choice

[tooblue]

Originally Posted by KiteRider

I'm in no position to guess how much of the ape response was Pavlovian. Along a similar line, perhaps the jealous ape pulled the lever in one case, because there was a thief, but accepted the food redistribution in the other case because he felt the human was an alpha-ape. Maybe this has nothing to do with reason and morality and everything to do with ape hierarchical order.

As a non-scientist with limited time, I have to choose my level of engagement with these issues so distant to my life and work. I watch Nova, and generally accept it as accurate reflection of current scientific thought. Of course I can second guess this stuff (which is fun), but I am in no position to dismiss.

According to Nova, Ape Genius 1. Some apes have sex for more complex reasons other than 'it feels good.' 2. Apes demonstrate a limited range of higher reasoning and intuition. 3. Apes demonstrate a primitive form of morality, which shows up in the form of empathy (emotional response to the other's grief, happiness, etc) and aid (apes have evolved to help one another, even when that help doesn't seem to benefit the helper). 4. Apes demonstrate a primitive form of culture (they make and use tools, and they pass this knowledge on by observation).

The point of all of this is that there exists a body of scientific evidence that suggests that the animals most genetically related to humans demonstrate a lot of human characteristics, including reason, empathy and culture. They also happen to have sex with both male and female partners. Given the presence of these other human-like behaviors it is harder to relegate their sexual behavior to the realm of pure instinct.

Maybe the scientists are wrong on this one, but I have no authority to 2nd guess them (outside of how it might amuse me). I respect their work and their expertise.

I think that human factor undermines the study and research. The observed reasoning is in part due to conditioning (taught and learned behavior) and is not a purely natural response on the part of the apes. That's not to say that animals in the wild do not engage in sex acts with the wrong sex of thier respective species. However it is a stretch to suggest that they are aware they are having hetero or homosexual sex. Instinctively animals are merely sexual.

Furthermore, such studies prove to underline the role environment and learned actions play in behavior.