"May there not be domains only a few men have penetrated in which whales may be superior?

The second argument for the preeminence of man over larger-brained cetaceans points to the human accomplishments of using hands, planning structures and building them. Cetaceans have no hands and therefore had no need to develop intelligence. This argument is derived from man's own narcissistic need to see the use of intelligence and sentience only in areas most men have entered. May there not be domains only a few men have penetrated in which whales may be superior? May not their philosophies and traditions be more complex, more full of insight than ours? Cut off from the need for building, for external forms of transport, for food preservation and preparation, they probably have very advanced ethics and laws, developed over millennia and passed on, through sonic communication, to their young. Their memories are probably much greater than ours. Like those among us with no written language (the Masai, for example), they probably have long histories which they recount to their young, who must memorize them in detail.

…from: "COMMUNICATION BETWEEN MAN AND DOLPHIN: The Possibilities of Talking with Other Species", by JOHN C. LILLY, M.D., Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1976, p. 136