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Yeesh, Thane! I forgot about this thread, LOL!
I think there's a bit of right in both yours and Otter's arguments. Of course there is a 'kinship' among all animals, humans included. We humans definitley have a kinship with apes in a way. There is much we can learn from the behavior of other animals. In fact, I believe that paying attention to their behavior is something that can help (though not be in itself) be a key to understanding some of our own problems with each other. Sometimes answers come from the oddest places.
However, it would be wrong to say there is nothing special about us that sets us apart. We truly are a magnificent group of creatures. Sure, an ape can learn sign language. Can that ape make the conscious choice to teach that to other apes and to it's offspring, such as humans do? I've never heard of such things, which leads me to speculate that there is some divine spark in the human brain. This is maybe where the discussion goes to "why is that spark there?" (that is if you believe it is there).
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