Edited by Peter Gidley, Thursday, 9 Oct 2014, 13:15
One of the things that really interests me is evidence in other animals of complex behaviour (and by implication thought) of the kind that we normally suppose to be unique to humans. Here's an extract from a longer TED talk by the Primatologist Frans de Waal, concerning fairness in Capuchin monkeys.
Note, that the monkey had been trained to do the task, but the reaction to the inequitable reward for the task was 'natural'. We tend to think that abstracts such as fairness are unique to us, arising from our unique 'consciousness' language and higher reasoning ability, and in particular needing language for expression.
This video makes me feel it is just as likely that these behaviours are themselves 'evolved', and that the explanations we give are host post hoc rationalisation.
Fairness is not just a 'people' thing
One of the things that really interests me is evidence in other animals of complex behaviour (and by implication thought) of the kind that we normally suppose to be unique to humans. Here's an extract from a longer TED talk by the Primatologist Frans de Waal, concerning fairness in Capuchin monkeys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meiU6TxysCg
Note, that the monkey had been trained to do the task, but the reaction to the inequitable reward for the task was 'natural'. We tend to think that abstracts such as fairness are unique to us, arising from our unique 'consciousness' language and higher reasoning ability, and in particular needing language for expression.
This video makes me feel it is just as likely that these behaviours are themselves 'evolved', and that the explanations we give are host post hoc rationalisation.