Personhood is somewhat different than humanity. Persons see themselves as having an identity that is somehow connected to other beings. Supposedly the concept of audience is a human cultural characteristic but we are not alone in this regard. Meet my good buddy Chantek. He was raised by his surrogate mother, Dr. H. Lynn Miles much like a human child. He communicates through sign language and has a very large vocabulary of signs. He used technology, ate off plates, painted, and even expressed his artistic talents in the creation of elaborate mobiles. When I first met him he was a little bundle of energy. Today he is ten times stronger than me and I could not imagine carrying him around anymore. Chantek's capabilities have been dismissed by some as "monkey-see-monkey-do" behavior but that is pure bunk. When you meet Chantek and interact with him there is not a well-trained animal there. He's a person.
One of my favorite stories that can provide proof of personhood revolved around his career as an artist. Lynn experimented with paying Chantek for his art. He received poker chips for creating more mobiles and could spend those on his favorite treats. Chantek, being incredibly strong, hit upon snapping the chips in half to double his purchasing power. Lynn responded by switching the legal tender from poker chips to metal disks. Chantek did not let it rest there. During his walks with a trainer he began to collect bits of foil along the way, being very careful to not let the trainer see him do it. At night when he was alone he fashioned his foil collection into metal disks. Counterfeiting is a high-order function no matter how you cut it. It was an elaborate plan requiring secrecy and the focus to stick with the plan over a period of weeks. Chantek had a concept that he was doing something dishonest but moved ahead with the plan and risked the consequences. It is the kind of thing persons do.
In the picture above Chantek is in the middle of signing what he would like Lynn to do. Yes, his sign language can be understood by other signers and he's a lot better at it than me. When we chatted he must have been frustrated by my poor language skills but he always was patient with me.
One of my favorite stories that can provide proof of personhood revolved around his career as an artist. Lynn experimented with paying Chantek for his art. He received poker chips for creating more mobiles and could spend those on his favorite treats. Chantek, being incredibly strong, hit upon snapping the chips in half to double his purchasing power. Lynn responded by switching the legal tender from poker chips to metal disks. Chantek did not let it rest there. During his walks with a trainer he began to collect bits of foil along the way, being very careful to not let the trainer see him do it. At night when he was alone he fashioned his foil collection into metal disks. Counterfeiting is a high-order function no matter how you cut it. It was an elaborate plan requiring secrecy and the focus to stick with the plan over a period of weeks. Chantek had a concept that he was doing something dishonest but moved ahead with the plan and risked the consequences. It is the kind of thing persons do.
In the picture above Chantek is in the middle of signing what he would like Lynn to do. Yes, his sign language can be understood by other signers and he's a lot better at it than me. When we chatted he must have been frustrated by my poor language skills but he always was patient with me.
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