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HUMAN & PRIMATE CULTURE.
Term Paper ID:26753
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Essay Subject:
Examines questions & problems involved in determining if humans alone have a "culture" or if primates do as well.... More...
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3 Pages / 675 Words
2 sources, 8 Citations,
APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Examines questions & problems involved in determining if humans alone have a "culture" or if primates do as well.
Paper Introduction:
THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DEFINITIONS
Introduction
There is currently a great debate over the nature of culture, and by extension, whether aspects of behavior shown by nonhuman primates can be called evidence of culture. There are two basic schools of thought on the topic. One group argues that culture is by definition human,, while a second group believes that examples of social learning by apes and monkeys are proof of distinct simian cultures. The gulf between these two camps is caused by problematic definitions. Definitions are crucial to language and reasoning, but also to science (Babbie, 1986, p. 93). The debate over ape culture will not be resolved until a unified definition of culture is accepted within the scientific community.
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Some of these use language as the defining characteristic of culture,others focus on the use of tools. 93). 2). Annual Review ofAnthropology 27: 3 1-328. 13). On the other side of the debate, the extreme view is held by those whoask the rhetorical question AAre humans the only species to buildspaceships?@ (P. Thespaceship comment cited above would leave out not only early humanancestors, but perhaps even early modern civilizations. Culture in nonhuman primates? These studies argue that evidence thatcertain types of apes and monkeys not only learn as individuals, but alsopass learned behavior to their fellows, and that this is proof that thesespecies have a culture. The problemwith such lists, he finds, is that it presents a dilemma when researchersare presented with a group that exhibits some, but not all, of thesetraits. A more recentdirection of study focuses on the transmission of learned behavior, orteaching. The former process iscalled conceptualization, the latter operationalization (Babbie, p. Discussion Recently, a number of books have been published describing what theauthors= call primate culture. (1986). The debate over apeculture will not be resolved until a unified definition of culture isaccepted within the scientific community. THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DEFINITIONS Introduction There is currently a great debate over the nature of culture, and byextension, whether aspects of behavior shown by nonhuman primates can becalled evidence of culture. As this field of study matures, it will bepossible to more tightly define the concept of culture. 3). Taking this position farther, some scientists findcultural behavior in other species beyond primates, one even tracingcultural activity to creatures as simple as slime molds (McGrew, 1998, p.1). 94).Currently, it appears that the study of culture is still hung up in theconceptualization stage. References Babbie, E. The Practice of Social Research, Fourth Edition.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. The differences both between and within these positions on culturehave to do with what some might see as a basic flaw in the scientificapproach to the study of culture. Definitions are crucial to language andreasoning, but also to science (Babbie, 1986, p. It is relatively to ignore slime molds when studying culture,but such ignorance is both difficult to justify and probably foolish if itmeans ejecting early modern human ancestors from the field of study. McGrew, W.C. (It should be noted that throughout hisarticle, McGrew displays a bias toward a definition that would allow formonkey culture.)Summary It is beyond the scope of this paper to propose a specific definitionof culture that would bridge the gap between the inclusive and exclusivecamps. One group argues that culture is by definition human,, while asecond group believes that examples of social learning by apes and monkeysare proof of distinct simian cultures. He notes that someattempts to bridge the divide between the two extremes have relied onAchecklists@ of traits that include language use, technology use, religiousrites, kinship ties, and aesthetics among many others (p. More rigid approaches focus on thedependence, rather than the mere use, of language and tools. McGrew notes the importance of the definitional divide in theanthropological study of culture (McGrew, p. There are two basic schools of thought on thetopic. According to McGrew, none of these approaches has achieved ascientific consensus (p. A loose conceptualization of culture results in lettingtoo much in, as exemplified by the claims of a culture among slime molds.A rigid conceptualization, on the other hand, can keep too much out. The difficulty in conceptualizing culture is best seen in the twoextreme positions. 2). The gulf between these two camps iscaused by problematic definitions. (1998). A crucial first step in the study ofanything is explication, or the process of defining the object first as aconcept and then as a thing that can be measured. In the interim,however, it appears to be the wisest approach to err on the side ofinclusion. Rather, it is the goal to argue for an inclusive approach to theconceptualization of culture. More moderate, but still anthropocentric approaches,place the definition of culture according to a number of human artifactssuch as written language and technology. 2). This would include anatomically modern Homo sapiens from more than4 , years ago (p. Other approaches to defining culture focus not on checklists, butrather on specific features, essentially linking culture to other concepts.
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