When mammals first came into existence, we were herbivores. This means that we only ate plants. Don’t you think that something had to change for mammals to start eating meat? Well, this change can be explained by the theory of evolution. You see, evolution explains why we have changed over the years into more complex animals. The theory revolves around natural selection. Natural selection means that we have kept the traits that help us survive and thrown away the ones that do not. However, Charles Darwin, the scientist responsible for the theory of evolution, has tried to show how related species have like mental traits as well as physical ones. Frans B.M de Waal agrees with Darwin’s theory in his article “Darwin’s Last Laugh.” He states that since monkeys and other similar animals kiss, hug, or groom their opponents after a fight, they must see the world and communicate much as humans do. However, studies have also shown that closely related animals cannot perform the same tasks that humans can. Humans display traits that other similarly structured animals do not, including a sense of fairness, the ability to imitate complex sounds, and the skill to interpret non-verbal cues. These traits highlight a downside in de Wall’s argument: similar physical traits do not always imply similar mental traits.
Darwin’s theory of evolution leads to scientists looking for similar mental abilities that end up not existing. An example, found in Johan J Bohuis and Clive D.L Wynne’s article “Can Evolution Explain How Minds Work?, centers around monkeys being able to see what people consider fair and unfair. The way scientists tested it interested me. Scientists thought that since one monkey showed sadness when not given an equally nice reward for doing the same task, they could sense fairness. The sad monkey received a cucumber instead of a grape. However, when the better reward was placed in a cage without a monkey, it was still upset. This shows that the scientists cannot automatically assume that monkeys have a sense of fairness.
Humans and primates do not share many mental processes. Language, for instance, separates humans and primates a lot. Language, as you know, helps humans complete most every task. Being able to communicate with other humans makes everything that much easier. The same article I mentioned before, “Can Evolution Explain How Minds Work?”, highlights this difference. The article argues that in order to have language, you need to mimic, or recreate, sounds that come from someone else. Primates cannot do the task that humans depend so much on. However, many parrots and songbirds can mimic others very well. The fact that unrelated species have similar skills as humans, but closely related animals do not, further shows the wide difference between the mental processes of men and primates.
Another example that shows humans and primates differ revolves around the “object choice” task. The object choice task concluded that chimpanzees could not use communication to complete a task. The object choice task starts by a person placing food under cups so that the chimpanzee does not know underneath which cup the food is located. The person then uses a social cue, like pointing, to lead the chimpanzee to the correct cup. While a human could perform this task, the chimpanzee cannot use these clues to find the hidden food.
As long as we try to assume mental abilities between humans and other related animals, I feel we will be making too many conclusions based on assumptions. I think that making these assumptions leads to humans not being able to fully understand or appreciate what makes humans and primates different. I think if we took the time to study both animals separately and see what each are capable of, rather than just assuming they are similar in mental ability because similar structure exists, we will be more successful in understanding what makes each animal special.
Fun Links:
Darwin's last laugh by Frans B. M. de Waal http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v460/n7252/full/460175a.html
Can evolution explain how minds work? By Johan J. Bolhuis1 & Clive D. L. Wynne
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v458/n7240/full/458832a.html
From Nonhuman to Human Mind: What Changed and Why? By Brian Hare
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/118000095/PDFSTART
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