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Cartmill EA. Overcoming bias in the comparison of human language and animal communication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218799120. [PMID: 37956297 PMCID: PMC10666095 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218799120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Human language is a powerful communicative and cognitive tool. Scholars have long sought to characterize its uniqueness, but each time a property is proposed to set human language apart (e.g., reference, syntax), some (attenuated) version of that property is found in animals. Recently, the uniqueness argument has shifted from linguistic rules to cognitive capacities underlying them. Scholars argue that human language is unique because it relies on ostension and inference, while animal communication depends on simple associations and largely hardwired signals. Such characterizations are often borne out in published data, but these empirical findings are driven by radical differences in the ways animal and human communication are studied. The field of animal communication has been dramatically shaped by the "code model," which imagines communication as involving information packets that are encoded, transmitted, decoded, and interpreted. This framework standardized methods for studying meaning in animal signals, but it does not allow for the nuance, ambiguity, or contextual variation seen in humans. The code model is insidious. It is rarely referenced directly, but it significantly shapes how we study animals. To compare animal communication and human language, we must acknowledge biases resulting from the different theoretical models used. By incorporating new approaches that break away from searching for codes, we may find that animal communication and human language are characterized by differences of degree rather than kind.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica A. Cartmill
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA90095
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Kalan AK, Nakano R, Warshawski L. What we know and don't know about great ape cultural communication in the wild. Am J Primatol 2023:e23560. [PMID: 37828822 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Following the first descriptions of culture in primates, widespread agreement has developed that the term can be applied to nonhumans as group-specific, socially learned behaviors. While behaviors such as those involving extractive tool use have been researched intensively, we propose that behaviors that are more subtle, less likely to be ecologically constrained, and more likely to be socially shaped, such as cultural forms of communication, provide compelling evidence of culture in nonhuman primates. Additionally, cultural forms of communication can provide novel insights into animal cognition such as the capacity for conformity, conventionalized meanings, arbitrariness in signal forms, and even symbolism. In this paper we focus on evidence from studies conducted on wild great apes. First, we provide a thorough review of what exactly we do know, and by extension don't know, about great ape cultural communication. We argue that detailed research on both vocal and gestural communication in wild great apes shows a more nuanced and variable repertoire than once assumed, with increasing support for group-specific variation. Second, we discuss the relevance of great ape cultural communication and its potential for illustrating evolutionary continuity for human-like cultural attributes, namely cumulative culture and symbolism. In sum, a concerted effort to examine cultural forms of communication in great apes could reveal novel evidence for cultural capacities that have thus far been heavily debated in the literature and can simultaneously contribute to an improved understanding of the complex minds of our closest living relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ammie K Kalan
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Robyn Nakano
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Lindsey Warshawski
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Rahman S. Myth of objectivity and the origin of symbols. FRONTIERS IN SOCIOLOGY 2023; 8:1269621. [PMID: 37885904 PMCID: PMC10598666 DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1269621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
An age-old challenge in epistemology and moral philosophy is whether objectivity exists independent of subjective perspective. Alfred North Whitehead labeled it a "fallacy of misplaced concreteness"; after all, knowledge is represented elusively in symbols. I employ the free energy principle (FEP) to argue that the belief in moral objectivity, although perhaps fallacious, amounts to an ancient and universal human myth that is essential for our symbolic capacity. To perceive any object in a world of non-diminishing (perhaps irreducible) uncertainty, according to the FEP, its constituent parts must display common probabilistic tendencies, known as statistical beliefs, prior to its interpretation, or active inference, as a stable entity. Behavioral bias, subjective emotions, and social norms scale the scope of identity by coalescing agents with otherwise disparate goals and aligning their perspectives into a coherent structure. I argue that by declaring belief in norms as objective, e.g., expressing that a particular theft or infidelity was generally wrong, our ancestors psychologically constructed a type of identity bound only by shared faith in a perspective that technically transcended individual subjectivity. Signaling explicit belief in what were previously non-symbolic norms, as seen in many non-human animals, simulates a top-down point of view of our social interactions and thereby constructs our cultural niche and symbolic capacity. I demonstrate that, largely by contrasting with overly reductive analytical models that assume individual rational pursuit of extrinsic rewards, shared belief in moral conceptions, i.e., what amounts to a religious faith, remains a motivational cornerstone of our language, economic and civic institutions, stories, and psychology. Finally, I hypothesize that our bias for familiar accents (shibboleth), plausibly represents the phylogenetic and ontogenetic contextual origins of our impulse to minimize social surprise by declaring belief in the myth of objectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shagor Rahman
- Independent Researcher, Westfield, NJ, United States
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Watson SK, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ. Innovative multi-material tool use in the pant-hoot display of a chimpanzee. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20605. [PMID: 36446876 PMCID: PMC9708694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24770-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
'Pant-hoot displays' are a species-typical, multi-modal communicative behaviour in chimpanzees in which pant-hoot vocalisations are combined with varied behavioural displays. In both captivity and the wild, individuals commonly incorporate striking or throwing elements of their environment into these displays. In this case study, we present five videos of an unenculturated, captive, adult male chimpanzee combining a large rubber feeding tub with excelsior (wood wool) in a multi-step process, which was then integrated into the subject's pant-hoot displays as a percussive tool or 'instrument'. During the construction process, the subject demonstrated an understanding of the relevant properties of these materials, 'repairing' the tub to be a more functional drum when necessary. We supplement these videos with a survey of care staff from the study site for additional detail and context. Although care must be taken in generalising data from a single individual, the behaviour reported here hints at three intriguing features of chimpanzee communicative cognition: (1) it suggests a degree of voluntary control over vocal production, (2) it is a so-far unique example of compound tool innovation and use in communicative behaviour and (3) it may represent an example of forward planning in communicative behaviour. Each of these would represent hitherto undocumented dimensions of flexibility in chimpanzee communication, mapping fertile ground for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K Watson
- Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution, University of Zurich, Affolternstrasse 56, 8050, Zürich, Switzerland.
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 650 Cool Water Drive, Bastrop, TX, 78602, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Bründl AC, Girard-Buttoz C, Bortolato T, Samuni L, Grampp M, Löhrich T, Tkaczynski P, Wittig RM, Crockford C. Maternal effects on the development of vocal communication in wild chimpanzees. iScience 2022; 25:105152. [PMID: 36238895 PMCID: PMC9550609 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life experiences, such as maternal care received, influence adult social integration and survival. We examine what changes to social behavior through ontogeny lead to these lifelong effects, particularly whether early-life maternal environment impacts the development of social communication. Chimpanzees experience prolonged social communication development. Focusing on a central communicative trait, the "pant-hoot" contact call used to solicit social engagement, we collected cross-sectional data on wild chimpanzees (52 immatures and 36 mothers). We assessed early-life socioecological impacts on pant-hoot rates across development, specifically: mothers' gregariousness, age, pant-hoot rates and dominance rank, maternal loss, and food availability, controlling for current maternal effects. We found that early-life maternal gregariousness correlated positively with offspring pant-hoot rates, while maternal loss led to reduced pant-hoot rates across development. Males had steeper developmental trajectories in pant-hoot rates than females. We demonstrate the impact of maternal effects on developmental trajectories of a rarely investigated social trait, vocal production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aisha C. Bründl
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Cédric Girard-Buttoz
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- The Great Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, 69675 Lyon, France
| | - Tatiana Bortolato
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- The Great Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, 69675 Lyon, France
| | - Liran Samuni
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Mathilde Grampp
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- The Great Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, 69675 Lyon, France
| | - Therese Löhrich
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch Institute, Seestraße 10, Berlin 13353, Germany
- World Wide Fund for Nature, Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Bangui BP 1053, Central African Republic
- Veterinary Group Practice Heeslingen, Stader Straße 5, 27404 Heeslingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Tkaczynski
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L33AF, UK
| | - Roman M. Wittig
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
| | - Catherine Crockford
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- The Great Ape Social Mind Lab, Institut des Sciences Cognitives, CNRS, 67 Boulevard Pinel, Bron, 69675 Lyon, France
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