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In a new paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of scientists at Emory University addresses that question with a study on chimpanzees, one of our closest living relatives. Contrary to some earlier laboratory tests, the Emory researchers concluded that chimpanzees are indeed willing to do favors for others. Our prosocial behavior may therefore date back at least several million years.

generosity pro-social primates

primates language

self primates self-awareness self-control

Inequality primates

Inequality primates

Inequality primates

"The foregoing notwithstanding, Taylor’s hypothesis has the value of focusing attention on a critical point in early human evolution and, more generally, of emphasizing the centrality of technology from the very beginning of human existence. It is an intriguing contribution to the materialist study of how humans came to be."

evolution human-evolution primates

Uncomfortable as it is to contemplate, it is looking increasingly likely that our brains are not something to write home about after all. One group of researchers has scrutinised the primate archaeological record and concluded that the human brain has evolved just as would be expected for a primate of our size. Meanwhile, a biologist who has compared the number of neurons in the brains of all sorts of animals says there is nothing special about the human brain compared with other primates. No one is doubting the fact of human intelligence, but they say it can no longer be attributed to a "supersized" brain. Humans, apparently, are no more than ordinary primates with ordinary-sized brains. - life - 04 August 2010 - New Scientist

brains evolution primates Darwin

in list: Evolution

In this post I’ll focus on the evolution of the human brain.

primates evolution brain human-evolution

in list: Evolution

As near morality as monkeys can make."\n\nSo the question is, just how near is that? Optimistic Darwinians believe, near enough to be morality. But skeptical Darwinians won't buy it. The great show we humans make of respect for moral principle they see as a civilized camouflage for an underlying, evolved psychology of a quite different kind.

evolution primates morality

Chimpanzees are highly intelligent animals, capable of great acts of empathy, technological sophistication, culture and cooperation. But they can also be murderers. Groups of chimps, mostly male, will mount lengthy aggressive campaigns against individuals from other groups, attacking them en masse and beating them to death. Their reasons for such killings have long been a source of debate among zoologists, but the aftermath of the Ngogo murders reveals an important clue. After the chimps picked off their neighbours, they eventually took over their territory. It seems that chimps kill for land.

chimpanzees primates grue morality

This is all part of the same trend – the human penchant for apeing individuals with high status. And now, it seems that we aren’t the only species that does this. Chimpanzees have the same inclination for apeing those with prestige. | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

primates imitation

I have always thought that babbling was the critical shift toward phonology, but now I see there was a second equally important one: wanting to be like your teacher. This step is just assumed by the simulation, but at least we have identified a pivotal point. Along with a need to make sounds, cooperate and trust, there has to be a drive/urge/instinct/whatever-you-call-it to imitate the signals of another. Where did that come from? Babel's Dawn

primates language imitation grue

A new study shows that chimps sacrifice their own advantage if they earned it unfairly.

chimpanzees primates morality fairness grue

I've always been fascinated by tip-of-the-tongue moments. It's estimated that, on average, people have a tip-of-the-tongue moment at least once a week. Perhaps it occurs when you run into an old acquaintance whose name you can't remember, although you know that it begins with the letter "J." Or perhaps you struggle to recall the title of a recent movie, even though you can describe the plot in perfect detail.

metacognition mind primates AZB

German scientists say they have determined great apes realize they can make mistakes when making choices.

apes primates metacognition mind cogsci

Empathy’s not a uniquely human trait, explains primatologist Frans de Waal. Apes and other animals feel it as well, suggesting that empathy is truly an essential part of who we are. Franz de Waal

empathy primates neuroethics

AZB evolution primates

child & chimp cooperation

primates cooperation altruism AZB neuroethics

Chimps and apes are genetically so similar to humans - and their human-like gestures do remind us how close we are on the family tree - that scientists have long been puzzled why they don't live as long as we do. Diet-related evolutionary changes may explain it.

AZB human-evolution primates diet evolution