Primate culture Flashcards
What is culture?
Socially-transmitted behaviour
What is culture based on?
The resources available to and the previous experiences of the group.
Culture varies because different groups have different resources and experiences. True or false?
True
Different populations of the same species can display different cultures. True or false?
True, as culture is situation-dependent
Culture can be described as what?
Intra-specific behavioural diversity
Why do humans like to display cultural markers?
For identity
What two factors contribute to the ‘cultural profile’ of a group?
Behaviour channelled by the environment
Arbitrary behaviours
Behaviours channelled by the environment are ‘moulded by necessity’. What does this mean?
They result from responding to environmental factors
How are behaviours channelled by the environment still cultural?
Because they can be socially transmitted
Because some behaviours are channelled by the environment, they can be observed in different groups occupying similar environments. Give an example of this?
The self-medication of gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. They swallow rough leaves to expel gut parasites.
What is an arbitrary behaviour?
A behaviour based on random choice or personal whim, rather than for an actual reason
Are arbitrary behaviours adaptive?
No, they are random but for some reason were copied and passed on
How do arbitrary behaviours show group identity?
Because it is unique, and only members of that particular group do it.
‘Things is how we do things here’
Give an example of arbitrary behaviours in a) chimps and b) capuchins.
a) A-frame grooming
b) Poking of each other’s eyeballs (signals trust)
What is ‘panthropology’?
The culture observed in the genus Pan, i.e. chimps and bonobos
Historically humans are perceived as superior and special compared to animals. True or false?
True
What 4 things supposedly set us apart from other animals?
- Language
- Technology
- Religious belief
- Cultural diversity
Studies of Great Apes have blurred man-animal distinctions. Why?
Language, technology and cultural diversity have been observed
Humans are becoming increasingly zoomorphised. What does this mean?
Animal characteristics are being assigned to humans
Animals are becoming increasingly anthropomorphised. What does this mean?
Human characteristics are being assigned to animals
Many believe we should revise the current taxonomic system. How?
By merging the genera Pan and Homo
Merging Pan and Homo would create what?
‘A community of equals’
Dualists theories such as mind/body and animal/human are becoming outdated. True or false?
True.
What is the Great Ape Project?
An initiative that seeks to extend the community of equals to include ALL great apes
What are the three main principles of the community of equals for its members?
- A right to life
- The protection of individual freedom
- Freedom from torture
In the community of equals, what is ‘a right to life’?
All members of the community have equal rights to life, i.e. you cannot kill a great ape except in self-defence
In the community of equals, what is ‘the protection of individual freedom’?
Great apes cannot be imprisoned for no reason and should be entitled to fair, legal trials
In the community of equals, what is ‘freedom from torture’?
The infliction of any kind of pain on a great ape is abhorrent and wrong.
Essentially, what does the community of equals want?
Human rights for great apes
What justifies the inclusion of the great apes within the community of equals?
Mental capacities and emotional lives similar to ours
Great apes cannot defend their own rights. How should this be handled?
They should have human guardians to protect their interests, much like young or disabled humans have.
Give two arguments against the Great Ape Project.
- 3/4 of the world do not, in practice receive human rights. Why should animals?
- Great apes like the chimpanzee are primary laboratory animals
Who founded the Great Ape Project and when?
Peter Singer and Paola Cavalieri in 1993
What is humanism?
The belief that humans are unique (and therefore superior)
Humans are not unique. Which other groups show language, technology and culture?
Primates, cetaceans, elephants, birds
Humans are the only group to commit suicide. True or false?
False, cetaceans do
Humans are the only group to cry and mourn. True or false?
False, elephants do
What is gradualism?
The belief that man-animal boundaries are blurred, e.g. the zoomorphism of humans and anthropomorphism of animals.
What is physical intelligence?
Understanding how the physical world works.
How does self-medication of prickly leaves rid great apes of gut bacteria?
They induce cramps and diarrhoea, disrupting the parasite lifecycle so they cannot reproduce.
