Lachance Catherine December 20, 1999 Humanities 100 Mark Liberman Wendy Steiner Question 6 What is human? Animal/Primate vs. Human Behavior While many discussions today center around similarities and differences in humans and primates, the core idea behind these debates is really the difference between humans and animals in general, and what makes humans distinct from other animals. Two speakers in the course, Professor Liberman and Dr. Chase, and several writers from the course pack, reflected on what it means to be human by contrasting it with what it means to be any other creature. These thinkers based their arguments on observations and experiments performed on chimpanzees and other animals. Most of the examples the speakers used dealt with primates because they are the closest in behavior out of all types of creatures to humans, but still lack some important elements that keep them from having human nature. Chimpanzees can detect differences in size and discriminate between shapes in much the same way we can; and their perception of movement is similar. They have no trouble in localizing sounds and can distinguish variations in tempo. Their sense of hearing is comparable to that of humans, although they are more sensitive to high-frequency sounds. (Goodall 1, 16) The discussions in the course used these data to show how humans are and are not distinct from other creatures, thus defining what is unique to humans and therefore part of human nature, and what is not. Professor Liberman discussed the issue of the theory of
mind and the use of verbal language in humans for his central argument. Dr. Chases approach to the subject involved symbolic culture as the definition of human nature. Both of these views can be incorporated into one main conclusion about what it means to be human. Professor Liberman based his talk about human traits on communication and language. All creatures have some means of communication, whether it is body language or designated vocalizations. For instance, dogs show a bow pattern of behavior that carries meaning. This bow pattern signals that the dog is preparing to roughhouse with someone. There are a lot of other examples of how animals communicate, like
humpbacked whales performing vocal displays for 20 to 30 minutes, or lions kicking out their legs while running to show their predators that they do not really have to rush to get away from them. Even the creatures that are very low on the Great Chain of Being have about 30 to 40 displays (which are various meanings expressed through communication). But while all other animals have 30 to 40 displays, human beings have over 30,000 words to their disposal. Thus, this human form of communication is obviously quantitatively different from other creatures, but is it qualitatively different? The outcome to this question has not been determined yet. Is it possible that those 30,000 words can be expressed through a certain creatures mere 40 various displays? The similarity of many chimpanzee gestures and postures to those of man is to Hugo and me one of the most exciting aspects of our study. It thrills us quite as much as the discovery that wild apes make and use crude tools. For either the gestures used by both man and ape have evolved along closely parallel lines, or they have a common origin in some remote ancestor of both man and ape. (Goodall 2, 140)
By comparing the chimpanzees mode of communication to an aspect of human language, the parallel between the two species is clearer, however, it is still a fact that humans possess a spoken language while the chimpanzees do not. Jane Goodall noted that the chimpanzees have also evolved a complex nonverbal communication based on touch, posture, and gesture, in many respects almost identical to the nonverbal communication used by man. (Goodall 2, 138) Even though this is fascinating, these creatures that are most like humans than any others, are still not as advanced as humans, thus making verbal language local only to humans. Another distinction between humans and other primates that Professor Liberman stressed was the theory of mind. No other species has been proven to be conscious of the fact that other creatures have thoughts. Although there are now many experiments being done on chimpanzees to find out if they possess this state of mind, it is, as of present, a distinct human aspect. Dr. Chases lecture focused more on human evolution, symbolic language, and culture compared to that of other animals to define human nature. Many different
evolutionary changes took place to create modern man. One these of changes was a shift in motivations. The original motivations for human reproduction started with a desire to protect oneself and with a comfort in tools. As humans progressed, their motivations for successful reproduction (which fuels natural selection) turned into concerns for hunger, fear, anger, possessiveness, and the responsibility of taking care of kin (especially offspring), along with the basic primal concerns. Dr. Chase emphasized that the difference between man and primates is language and symbolic culture. There are three kinds of signs that can point to a reference. The
first is an index, like smoke indicating fire, the second is an icon, which is something that looks like what it refers to, and the third is a referential symbol, which refers to a meaning. In developing their culture, humans have gone beyond referential symbolism in nature. Repetition of the same set of actions with the same set of objects over and over again in a ritual performance is often used for a similar purpose in modern human societies . . . In a ritual frenzy, one can be induced to see everyday activities and objects in a very different light. This aspect of many ritual activities is often explicitly recognized as a means to help participants discover the higher meaning of the otherwise mundane, while at the same time promoting group solidarity . . . Of course, in all societies of modern humans, most ritual activities are in service of complex symbolic ideas and institutions. They are self-consciously employed for their ability to help define abstract social relationships and inculcate certain habits of thought and action. (Deacon 402-403) So, through defining their culture, humans have set themselves apart from other animals. Sacrifices, rituals that reinforce values of society, mythology, and a defined purpose in life are all aspects of human culture. Because culture is shared or learned behavior, all animals have some sort of culture, but not to the cultivated extent that humans have. For example, a chimpanzee would never take an oath, which is a purely cultural act of language. The theory of symbolic origins I have outlined is . . .not a theory of the origins of social behavior, but of the translation of social behavior into symbolic form. More important, it is not a scenario for how our intelligence triumphed over our reproductive competition, but rather how unique demands of reproductive competition and cooperation created the conditions that led to our unique form of intelligence. (Deacon 408) Dr. Chase also pointed out the importance of the size of mans brain as an explanation as to why humans have a more developed culture than other primates and animals. According to Dr. Chase, the increase in various mot...