That doesn't preclude the probability that they have a common ancestor that is entirely a monkey. I'm certain that many of our ancestors both prior to and after the last monkey-human common ancestor would be categorized as monkeys if we could see them today.
It's obviously true that the last common ancestor between chimps and humans was unarguably an ape. Consider: the last common ancestor of orangutans and the other apes existed before the last common ancestor of gorillas, chimps, and humans, which in turn existed before the last common ancestor of chimps and humans. So in order to say that the last ape-human common ancestor existed before there were any apes, you'd have to believe that orangutans, gorillas, and chimps somehow independently evolved into apehood sometime after the humans split off. That's ridiculous, hence, man evolved from ape.
Oh, I agree.
I believe his point was the old why-haven't-all-the-current-monkeys-left-the jungle and start driving Volvos canard.
Mine was a short-hand response to that. Sorry.
Are there any animals evolving today?
I have come to largely accept evolution since the evidence is too overwhelming, but I just do not understand this point.
I don't buy punc. eqilibrium, so what else could account for why we don't seem to have evolution in progress (evolution from one species to another, not adaptation).