Henri:
do you believe the study of other species in order to shed light on our own (to be) simplistic not only when the behaviour is the object of study, but also when it is the body (morphology, genetics, etc) ?
No, I think the studies of anatomy, neurons, muscle, etc. may well be interesting and revealing, but I think that again it may be an oversimplification to use these findings in a way that does not treat individual species, subspecies, and, even, individuals organisms with the uniqueness they deserve, and can lead to many false assumptions and dangerous conclusions.
Doctors & Lawyers for Responsible Medicine
Animal-based research cannot be extrapolated to humans because of species differences and is therefore misleading and counterproductive. Testing a drug or chemical on an animal provides no evidence that it is safe for humans: animals do not react in the same way to drugs and other substances as we do, due to differences in their absorption, distribution, metabolism, response to and elimination of drugs. Diseases which are induced artificially in the laboratory in order to evaluate drugs can never be compared to those arising spontaneously in humans.
The problem I see with comparing the behavior of animals and humans, esp. as you have intimated, Henri, with an eye to finding our "true biological" nature and the "ideal" structure of human society is very misguided.
Henri:
But the insights gained.....can help us to create testable hypotheses concerning the consequences of the experiments on social order that we constantly perform on ourselves.
I just don't see how! I realize that from your materialist vantage point there isn't really any difference between brain biology and behavior, but Human Beings are moral agents with freedom of choice; Chimps and other Apes do not have this responsiblity. At some level we make choices against our instincts, whether that be an excess of passion or a stoic restraint.
Certainly there may be analogous developmental stages across species. Animal studies may be interesting, but they are so because we see ourselves, parts of ourselves in animal behavior.
In birdsong, CAS biologist hears more than male voices
In her lab, Ayako Yamaguchi has found that female cardinals learn to sing about three times faster than males, but that males ultimately acquire a wider repertoire of songs.
….a cardinal’s song is more than a pleasant assurance of spring: it’s a biological puzzle that may shed light on how birds and whales and humans learn to vocalize.
Sponging dolphins learn from mum
Female bottlenose dolphins are taught by their mothers to use marine sponges to look for food, according to a study.
Young female chimps outlearn their brothers
Protein source
Lonsdorf adds that there are just two main sources of animal protein for chimps - the termites or colobus monkeys.
The role of a protein source was never mentioned in the article you posted, Henri!
Are Girls Smarter?
But young male chimps may hunt and throw sooner than females. Sound familiar? Yep, human girls frequently learn to write and draw first, but boys often run and toss balls earlier than girls. Guess you'd call that "going ape"!
And, Henri, I was not asking a rhetorical question! I would like to know what we are supposed to have learned about humans from this study!
I will admit that it is cute.
Apo