Locating nature and culture: &lt;i&gt;Pan-Homo&lt;/i&gt; culture and theological primatology

Nancy R Howell

doi:10.4102/ve.v36i3.1440

Abstract

Studies of chimpanzee and bonobo social and learning behaviours, as well as diverse explorations of language abilities in primates, suggest that the attribution of �culture� to primates other than humans is appropriate. The underestimation of primate cultural and cognitive characteristics leads to minimising the evolutionary relationship of humans and other primates. Consequently my claim in this reflection is about the importance of primate studies for the enhancement of Christian thought, with the specific observation that the bifurcation of nature and culture may be an unsustainable feature of any world view, which includes extraordinary status for humans (at least, some humans) as a key presupposition.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The scientific literature concerning primate studies is typically ignored by Christian theology. Reaping the benefits of dialogue between science and religion, Christian thought must engage and respond to the depth of primate language, social, and cultural skills in order to better interpret the relationship of nature and culture.

Highlights

Concentration keeps me attentive to details, and makes me selective about what is pushed to margins
Naturalist, whose book Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History (1977) posed a serious question for theologians and philosophers: Chimps and gorillas have long been the battleground for our search for uniqueness; for if we could establish an unambiguous distinction—of kind rather than of degree—between ourselves and our closest relatives, we might gain the justification long sought for our cosmic arrogance
Kanzi demonstrated for the researchers that enculturation in a language community is key to learning language, which suggests that language training of older chimpanzees and bonobos should be expected to produce less successful language usage and comprehension in apes

Summary

Introduction

Concentration keeps me attentive to details, and makes me selective about what is pushed to margins. Attention epistemology has challenged me to be precise about which species are my focus, but has pushed me to understand the complex intraspecies differences and to remember the names (e.g. Kanzi) of individual non-human animals.2 Second, I have become aware of how tempting discovery of behavioural data supporting preconceived notions can be.

Results

Conclusion