Which word?

B

Hi fivejedjon:

Trained macaques studied themselves in mirrors, fueling debate over animals' capacity for self-recognition.

Can you please help me understand the meaning? I can understand it in parts, but not as a whole.

...the monkeys looked at themselves in the mirror.
...there is a debate if animals are

Mr. Tommeaning

Some background information is missing, but it can be inferred to some extent.

Some researchers in animal behavior believe that animals have no capacity for self-recognition.
The fact that certain animals (the macaques) studied themselves in mirrors seems to prove those researchers wrong.
The discovery of this behavior in macaqu

Thanks for all your comments.

CalifJimThe discovery of this behavior in macaques will increase discussion between researchers with different beliefs about animal self-recognition.

Exactly.

The idea behind 'fuelling' is 'providing/adding fuel to keep alive the flame' of the debate that is already burning. You can't really 'exaggerate' a debate.

Thanks, 5jj and CJ.

One more question.

Debate is a noun in this sentence, isn't it? Wouldn't it work better with a?

Trained macaques studied themselves in mirrors, a fueling debate over animals' capacity for self-recognition.

Tom

Debate is the direct object of fuelling, do it would be fuelling a debate, not a fuelling debate.. This is possible, though I think debate is better treated as a non-count noun here.

Ah-ha...so fueling is a verb here?

I was under the impression that fueling was the adjective of debate, ipso facto my question about 'a fueling debate'.

Something like this:

Whether television is good or bad for children -- a fueling debate among parents.

Thanks again 5jj

Tom