RUEL R.

CADAPAN
Master of Arts in Science Education

THE MONKEY DOES NOT WANT TO BE A MAN

(A Reflection)

A subject of frequent discussion among scientist is the remarkable genetic similarity between
humans and monkeys. This curious situation leads to some questions. If we have a common ancestry, and
why would God create something so similar to man, if we don't? This has something to do with the story “the
monkey does not want to be a man.
In real life, there is no problem distinguishing between humans and apes. I have never seen a gorilla
that I would confuse with a human, or vice versa, despite the unusual appearances of various rare individuals.
I never heard of a monkey escaping from the zoo and disguising itself as a human for several months before
it was found out and returned to captivity. Even if an ape should evolve to a human stature with an ape brain,
it would be far from a human being. If we saw the creatures from which fossils arose in real life, we might
have very little difficulty knowing whether they were humans or apes, but the scarcity of evidence leaves
plenty of room for interpretation. Going back to the context that monkeys do not want to be a man, in my
opinion it is because you can’t keep company with monkeys without insensibly getting be-monkeyed. Human
mind feeds on them until its thoughts take their shape and nature. The monkey thus put into you naturally
thinks that monkeydom is belied; and self-esteem, even.
One can understand in evolutionary terms why there should be animals such as apes that are so
close to humans. But why would God create a creature that is so close to a human, but not quite? To answer
this, we have to reason from what we know or can infer about God's motives in the creation. This may lead
us to considerations that seem far removed from those that are expected in this context. The original creation
was intended to contribute to the happiness of man and animal. We can assume that in many cases the Lord
created animals that would be a delight to man, and created man to be a blessing to the animals. Even today,
both children and adults enjoy seeing gorillas and chimpanzees in zoos. It is reasonable to assume that these
creatures were partly made for just this reason, to be a joy and entertainment to us. In a similar way, we can
speculate in unorthodox terms that an animal such as the monkey was created because of its cuddly
appearance, which is a delight to children and many adults. Even if such creatures don't seem well adapted
from our viewpoint, they serve their purposes very well. In such, I think is the very reason why monkey doesn’t
want to be a man because every creation have their own purpose.