It is debatable to what extent language is a uniquely human capacity, since apes, like the accomplished chimpanzee Kanzi, have mastered limited but impressive vocabularies. Yet, as Ian Leslie notes, “What Kanzi never did, and never does, is ask why. He never furrows his brow, leans over the keyboard, and bashes out a sentence like, ‘Why are you asking me all these questions?’ or ‘What exactly are you trying to discover?’ He doesn’t ask what lies beyond the confines of his home at the research center.”
