Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2
Except that trees are, as far as we know, not self-aware. We don't know anything about the nature of sapiency, as such, since we're the only known example, we don't know how different from us it can be, or how much like us it would have to be. No data.
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On the other hand, since we don't have a firm definition of sapience, we'll likely have to fall back on "how much like us are they?"
Pretty much everything we thought was unique about humans seems to be shared on at least some level by one animal or another. Chimps and corvids use tools, prairie dogs may have a simple language, dolphins have unique song elements to identify themselves as individuals (i.e. names).