Did humans evolve from apes?

Elisa (No)

Humans do not share a common ancestor with apes; we were created—not evolved. First, one must consider the 'missing link,' and despite common claims, the missing link is still missing. In actuality, many fossilized remains of prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans have been discovered, with no transitional fossil between humans and apes.

There are significant issues with the idea that humans evolved from apes, considering how the last ancestor supposedly related to humans was different from us and modern apes in many profound ways. Likewise, we never see apes evolve into humans, and humans do not have tails. According to this scientific article, ‘The loss of the tail is among the most notable anatomical changes to have occurred along the evolutionary lineage leading to humans and to the ‘anthropomorphous apes’ with a proposed role in contributing to human bipedalism. Yet, the genetic mechanism that facilitated tail-loss evolution in hominoids remains unknown.’ There is also no evidence of the evolution of upright walking from apes to humans. 

Many believe evolution is not real at all, believing that God, or an Intelligent Designer, created humans without any evolution processes. We cannot dismiss the spiritual explanations for creation. There are also many general problems with the theory of evolution, such as failures in the fossil record itself. Whether people like to admit it or not, evolution is just a theory, and there are still many flaws in many fundamental assumptions of evolutionary theory. If a human from the 1800s saw a smartphone, would they assume it was created or evolved? Design implies creation. Humans, like apes, were designed with different features and qualities—it's unnecessary to attribute human origins to the randomness of evolution and to rebuff the obvious fact that we were created unique and distinct from animals. 

Andrew (Yes)

Significant evidence based on behavioral traits and physical aspects shows that humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor. These include many things that we take for granted every day, such as the ability to walk on two legs and use tools. Our large brains are also traits shared with apes, but not found in other species. Though our physical forms are clearly similar, it’s what can’t be seen by the naked eye that really shows our similarities: DNA. Humans and chimpanzees share an astonishing 98.8% of common DNA. DNA is passed from one generation to another, so the similarities between our species are clear indicators of close hereditary relations.  

Humans and apes share a large amount of genetic similarity because they both evolved in Africa. Humans and other species of apes, such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos, have developed in unique ways suited to their current environments. However, it is clear that they share a common ancestor who was living in Africa between six and eight million years ago. During this early period, our common ancestors developed tactile fingers and the ability to walk upright.

All species evolve over time as a natural reaction to their environments, including humans. The belief that humans somehow exist outside of this fundamental fact of nature is often the result of unscientific religious belief or an extremely anthropocentric view of the world that places humans in an outsized and entirely separate role. The truth is that we are closely related to apes and the rest of the larger natural world.