could other animals eventualy evolve into humanlike beings?

Question

if we were to put them in our place?

Answer 1

If humans were once chimps then why are chimps not turning into humans on a regular basis?

Answer 2

That depends on what you mean by humanlike. Humanlike bodies and humanlike minds do not need to go together, as study of bird intelligence shows. Scrub jays show signs of intelligence never before seen in any other species except humans. Other corvids have also shown near-human mental abilities. Yet I don't think of crows when someone says "humanlike". Other examples of unhumanlike species with humanlike minds are grey parrots, orcas and elephants.

So, while it seems likely that every now and then evolution produces species with humanlike intelligence, it doesn't seem to make humanlike bodies any more likely. The structure of bird brains is radically different from human brains, even though it is capable of the same tasks, and that's not even touching the subject of skeletal anatomy. If corvids or parrots ever develop a civilization, they are likely to still look like corvids and parrots, not humans (even though they might reacquire fingers in their wings through atavism). Sapient elephants would probably develop more complex trunks instead of the extremely unlikely alternative of becoming bipedal and somehow changing their stumpy toes into nimble fingers. It seems unlikely that cetaceans would ever develop human-like technological civilizations, though, as their environment and anatomy just is not suitable for even such basic things as making of tools or use of fire.

Answer 3

Perhaps

Perhaps not

What is more likely to happen is that there might be other animal species that could over time evolve some similar traits to humans. They might develop tool use or language or some improved thinking/analytical abilities. This would be a good example of convergent evolution.

Answer 4

So, you are thinking if you take a chimp and introduce it in to the human world it would eventually become human.

No, that's not how evolution works.

Remember, we humans evolved from and ancestral primate form. Chimps went their way and human went a different way.

Read this about common misconceptions about evolution.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/misconceps/index.shtml

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html

Answer 5

If humans were to disappear would something evolve into an intelligent being that could manipulate its own environment as humans have? Possibly, but I doubt it would do so to the extent we have.

Answer 6

* Evolution is geared to the environment. If there is a niche, something will evolve to fill it. Our niche is filled. Too late!

Answer 7

you know, i asked a question similar to this in a class discussion once, and everyone gave me negative feed back.