Why do the otherwise scientifically-knowledgeable say we did not evolve from apes?

You have to reflect on the audience .. anyone who asks that question is probably not looking for a reasonable explanation in the first place. They also probably think chimpanzees are monkeys. Anyone within the field - even those with a general knowledge of human evolutionary history and cladistics - would know that members of the superfamily Hominoidea are apes.

However, science itself sometimes makes things confusing - You will find the terms gene, locus and allele used interchangeably in genetic literature, by reputable individuals. It doesn't make it wrong.

Same with ape - it is typically used to differentiate between non-human and human primates. MOST people understand this.

When someone asks if we evolved from apes why are there still apes, they aren't looking for a discourse on taxonomic semantics.

Kudos to the people that even take the time to answer those questions anymore. I can barely muster an eye roll.

One issue with "descent from apes" is that people immediately think of today's apes. Then they compare a chimpanzee to a modern human and try to see a resemblance. In effect they try to cram millions of years together and exclude all the hominid species in between.

Back in 2004 a 13 million year old fossil was found in Spain. It "may have been the last common ancestor of humans and all great apes living today." Reconstruction shows it as "ape-like"but not like a modern ape.

Our own "homo" lineage takes millions of years and 5 or 6 species to get to us. Chimpanzees today have gone through a similar evolutionary process. Go back 8 million years and you won't find today's chimps. "Chimp like" but not the same.

The "descent from apes" too often creates the mental picture of a troop of chimpanzees suddenly giving birth to human babies. It also assumes that today's apes have never changed.

They don't understand what apes means. They think it means only the apes living today. It is so widespread that it is beyond an urban legend. Clearly the biological education system has dropped the ball. It is in answer to the creationist view that we evolved from chimps. They just don't know biology well enough to realize that our common ancestors with apes were apes and they were called apes.

The statement you are referring to is usually presented as an answer to the question "If humans came from apes, why are there still apes?" So while you are technically correct within a certain time frame, it wouldn't necessarily be the most helpful answer to give in that situation. Furthermore, it IS correct to say that humans and apes all evolved from a common ancestor or a pre-ape, because they did.

A much more accurate statement might be that modern humans and modern apes both descend from non-modern apes. Honestly, I think you're being a bit picky.

Science has been changing it's mind over this very question since it's inception. They have never yet been able to prove evolution conclusively. I say that it is an impossibility for any simian to jump the species barrier and become human, it just does not happen. It is more likely that we were dropped off by a passing spacecraft, or a dozen other theories than the story they would have us swallow. There are far too many missing links which are no longer missing, yet not enough to prove the point with this evolution thing.

We're as closely related to bonobos as to chimpanzees. Bonobos used to be called "pygmy chimpanzees," but they're actually a separate species.

Chimpanzees resemble the dark side of humans. They're always fighting and conspiring to achieve dominance over each other. The adult males, in addition to fighting each other, beat up on females and youngsters. Sometimes chimpanzees murder each other.

Bonobos resemble what humans could perhaps become if we stop trying to dominate each other. Bonobos almost never fight. They settle all their disputes by lovemaking. "Make love not war" is a way of life for the bonobos.

- Ray Eston Smith Jr

Ah. Yes, I've been seeing that here, and in the Religion & Spirituality category.

I THINK what's been going on is this: Many who reject evolution, ask "How come there still monkeys?" (assuming that monkeys are what we evolved from, rather than apes)

Having lots of exposure to the "we didn't descend from monkeys ...." explanations from those who understand evolution fairly well, when people as "How come there's still apes?" they just reuse the other answers.

This is my reading of this puzzle.

I think it's relatively recently that scientists realized that we ARE apes, that is that there's no meaningful way of categorizing our branch without including us as apes, not merely descended from apes; before we'd worked out the chronology of which species split off, in which order.

A LOT of people are unclear about what primates, monkeys, and apes are. Heck, Jon Stewart refers to chimps as 'monkeys' -- as does nearly everyone else.

What scientifically knowledgeable people say is that we did not evolve from any other extant ape.

They know we are apes and that we descended from an ape. Just not any existing species of ape.

Not everyone is scientifically accurate. I frequently point out that we ARE apes in some of my answers in regards to evolution. People tend to think that if we are labeled as apes we are somehow less important and that is not the case. No other apes build space craft.

Because people are free to draw their conclusions. If you are prepared to call yourself an ape, then, go ahead and introduce yourself as such. Others obviously don't see it as such and, until there is clear scientific evidence pointing otherwise, they don't and won't need to. This includes equally brilliant scientists around the world who have studied the evidence and drew conclusions that support Creationism. The Theory of Evolution is exactly that, a theory. And because it is a theory, all people are free to offer his or her thoughts on the topic. You, of all people, should understand this point. Otherwise, your credentials as a scientist should be questioned.