The Ape And The Sushi Master : Cultural Reflections Of A Primatologist

What if apes had their own culture rather than an imposed human version? What if they reacted to situations with behavior learned through observation of their elders (culture) rather than with pure genetically coded instinct (nature)? In answering these questions, eminent primatologist Frans de Waal corrects our arrogant assumption that humans are the only creatures to have made the leap from the natural to the cultural domain.The book's title derives from an analogy de Waal draws between the way behavior is transmitted in ape society and the way sushi-making skills are passed down from sushi master to apprentice. Like the apprentice, young apes watch their group mates at close range, absorbing the methods and lessons of each of their elders' actions. Responses long thought to be instinctive are actually learned behavior, de Waal argues, and constitute ape culture.A delightful mix of intriguing anecdote, rigorous clinical study, adventurous field work, and fascinating speculation, The Ape and the Sushi Master shows that apes are not human caricatures but members of our extended family with their own resourcefulness and dignity. From the New York Times bestselling author of Mama's Last Hug and Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? , a provocative argument that apes have created their own distinctive cultures In The Ape and the Sushi Master , eminent primatologist Frans de Waal corrects our arrogant assumption that humans are the only creatures to have made the leap from the natural to the cultural domain. The book's title derives from an analogy de Waal draws between the way behavior is transmitted in ape society and the way sushi-making skills are passed down from sushi master to apprentice. Like the apprentice, young apes watch their group mates at close range, absorbing the methods and lessons of each of their elders' actions. Responses long thought to be instinctive are actually learned behavior, de Waal argues, and constitute ape culture. A delightful mix of intriguing anecdote, rigorous clinical study, adventurous field work, and fascinating speculation, The Ape and the Sushi Master shows that apes are not human caricatures but members of our extended family with their own resourcefulness and dignity. "The Ape and the Sushi Master challenges our most basic assumptions about who we are and how we differ from other animals. In a delightful mix of autobiographical anecdote, rigorous research, and speculation, eminent primatologist Frans de Waal leads us to consider the possibility that apes have their own culture. We think that only we humans are culturally free and sophisticated, varying our behavior from group to group. But what if apes react to situations with behavior learned through observation of their elders (culture) rather than through pure genetic instinct (nature)? Such a scenario shakes our centuries-old convictions about what makes humans distinct. It also counters our recent tendency to look at other animals as slaves of their genetic programs: if animals learn from each other the way we do, this brings them much closer to us."--Jacket