Are we humans simply remodelled apes? Chimps with a tweak? Is the difference between our genomes so minuscule it justifies the argument that our cognition and behaviour must also differ from chimps by barely a whisker? If “chimps are us” should we grant them human rights? Or is this one of the biggest fallacies in the study of evolution? NOT A CHIMP argues that these similarities have been grossly over-exaggerated - we should keep chimps at arm’s length. Are humans cognitively unique after all?
Saturday, 20 March 2010
The Ethical Dog
A number of primatologists and comparative cognitive psychologists verge on being almost irritating in their claims for the origins of human moral behaviour in non-human primates but in this breath of fresh air from Marc Bekoff we are reminded of the intense social intelligence of dogs and other canids and the likelihood that studying social communication and the policing of social fairness in dogs and coyotes etc. may be much more rewarding than study of, say, chimps, in getting to the root of how the human sense of fairness might have evolved. Bekoff outlines several cardinal rules of play among canids, while reminding us of how important play is in promoting trust, altruism and social bonds. His rules are: Communicate clearly; Mind your manners; Admit when you are wrong; Be honest.
Songbirds Aid Study Of Human Speech Production
During one of my recent talks, specifically to the Salon group at the University of Manchester, local polymath Ray Tallis poured scorn on my assertion that songbirds were teaching us a lot about how we make language. I already knew, for instance, how similar birdsong is to human speech - it contains syllables that can only be arranged in a certain way, for instance, and has to be taught to young male songbirds by mentor adults during their "window of opportunity" for song acquisition. The gene FOXP2, heavily implicated in human speech and language, is similarly implicated in birdsong. Here is another interesting aspect of birdsong/human language research.
Asymmetry In Chimp Homologues Of Human Language Brain Areas
Bill Hopkins and his various collaborators continue to find interesting evidence of brain asymmetry in chimpanzees. Here they report clear asymmetry in the chimp equivalents of both Broca's and Wernicke's areas. They conclude:
"Our findings support the conclusion that leftward asymmetry of Wernicke's area originated prior to the appearance of modern human language and before our divergence from the last common ancestor. Moreover, this study provides the first evidence of covariance between asymmetry of anterior and posterior cortical regions that in humans are important to language and other higher order cognitive functions."
In my chapter INSIDE THE BRAIN I note earlier findings by Bill Hopkins along this line but add that, at the levels of neurons, and clumps of neurons, there is human specific asymmetric difference.
"Our findings support the conclusion that leftward asymmetry of Wernicke's area originated prior to the appearance of modern human language and before our divergence from the last common ancestor. Moreover, this study provides the first evidence of covariance between asymmetry of anterior and posterior cortical regions that in humans are important to language and other higher order cognitive functions."
In my chapter INSIDE THE BRAIN I note earlier findings by Bill Hopkins along this line but add that, at the levels of neurons, and clumps of neurons, there is human specific asymmetric difference.
Monday, 15 March 2010
Why Genes Still Matter
In NOT A CHIMP I spend quite a lot of time talking about the idea that, quite opposite to the notion that evolution of genes has been irrelevant to humans over the last 40,000 or so years, humans are still evolving and that the rate of evolution is increasing, not decreasing. I cite work by Greg Cochran, John Hawks and Henry Harpending, and Cochran's and Harpending's book is now published by Basic Books. Evolutionary Psychology Journal (Open Access) has the following review:
The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending, is an unapologetic analysis of some relatively recent trends in human biology. The authors, one a physicist, the other an anthropologist, are intrepid in laying out their hypotheses, no matter how politically incorrect or controversial they may be. Although many of their arguments need more fleshing out and some may not withstand the assault of further scientific analysis, the authors are stunningly creative when considering human history. If even a handful of their arguments survive the onslaught of rigorous scientific scrutiny, Cochran and Harpending will have offered a valuable and novel approach to addressing questions of recent human evolution. Many scholars, especially in the human social sciences, avoid addressing difficult and uncomfortable aspects of their disciplines. There seems to be a systemic ignorance of the implications that the biological sciences offer to our understanding of ourselves, whether intentional or not. This is most apparent in discussions of individual differences and group differences in traits such as intelligence and aggression, topics that are openly discussed in The 10,000 Year Explosion. Ironically, in their attempts to avoid racial or ethnic bias, researchers may inadvertently engage in scientific bias. This scientific bias is apparent whenever differences between individuals and groups are claimed to result solely from differences in culture, with little or no regard for genetics. An example of this, discussed by Cochran and Harpending, is the denial of the scientific evidence for the heritability of intelligence and the claim that the higher-than-average intelligence of groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews is explained entirely by differences in rearing practices. Therefore, despite the controversy that this book may arouse, it is an important vanguard in furthering the study of “genetic history” (p. x), and its relationship to cultural history.
The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution, by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending, is an unapologetic analysis of some relatively recent trends in human biology. The authors, one a physicist, the other an anthropologist, are intrepid in laying out their hypotheses, no matter how politically incorrect or controversial they may be. Although many of their arguments need more fleshing out and some may not withstand the assault of further scientific analysis, the authors are stunningly creative when considering human history. If even a handful of their arguments survive the onslaught of rigorous scientific scrutiny, Cochran and Harpending will have offered a valuable and novel approach to addressing questions of recent human evolution. Many scholars, especially in the human social sciences, avoid addressing difficult and uncomfortable aspects of their disciplines. There seems to be a systemic ignorance of the implications that the biological sciences offer to our understanding of ourselves, whether intentional or not. This is most apparent in discussions of individual differences and group differences in traits such as intelligence and aggression, topics that are openly discussed in The 10,000 Year Explosion. Ironically, in their attempts to avoid racial or ethnic bias, researchers may inadvertently engage in scientific bias. This scientific bias is apparent whenever differences between individuals and groups are claimed to result solely from differences in culture, with little or no regard for genetics. An example of this, discussed by Cochran and Harpending, is the denial of the scientific evidence for the heritability of intelligence and the claim that the higher-than-average intelligence of groups such as the Ashkenazi Jews is explained entirely by differences in rearing practices. Therefore, despite the controversy that this book may arouse, it is an important vanguard in furthering the study of “genetic history” (p. x), and its relationship to cultural history.