I think that my bias towards our being related to monkeys is due to the meanings I invest in “monkey” and “human” as not being greatly dissimilar.
On the other hand, if I had already accepted the existence and human-exclusiveness of a soul, and/or a supernatural account of the world’s origin that afforded special primacy to humans as distinct from animals, then clearly I would think relations that crossed these distinct boundaries of type were too absurd to consider.
Also, another limitation on the heuristic might be, as you suggest, weighing the value of the time that it would take to investigate the proposition being examined; I’m more likely to pause and engage in a discussion of my beliefs when I’m relaxing in my leather armchair with a snifter of brandy than while I’m changing trains on the way to work.
I think that my bias towards our being related to monkeys is due to the meanings I invest in “monkey” and “human” as not being greatly dissimilar.
On the other hand, if I had already accepted the existence and human-exclusiveness of a soul, and/or a supernatural account of the world’s origin that afforded special primacy to humans as distinct from animals, then clearly I would think relations that crossed these distinct boundaries of type were too absurd to consider.
Also, another limitation on the heuristic might be, as you suggest, weighing the value of the time that it would take to investigate the proposition being examined; I’m more likely to pause and engage in a discussion of my beliefs when I’m relaxing in my leather armchair with a snifter of brandy than while I’m changing trains on the way to work.