Special status of the people
Most followers of our culture see
in humans a being that is fundamentally different from the animals. But the
supposedly human-specific mental abilities, such as Reason, consciousness, use
of tools, language and culture are challenged by today's behavioral science in
its exclusivity.
The special position of man - an outdated concept?
Most followers of our culture see
in humans a nature that is fundamentally different from the animals, which due
to its exceptional ability has a special status throughout the animal kingdom.
But the supposedly human-specific mental abilities, such as Reason,
consciousness, use of tools, language and culture are challenged by today's
behavioral science in its exclusivity. Many species of animals are also able to
conceptualize a problem and to plan a corresponding solution. When this process
occurs detached from the learning process in the mindset, it is called
cognitive learning.
Especially the non-human primates, but also other animals have similar
abilities:
*
Chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are able to make categories, assign
categories to these categories of terminology or objects and think abstractly.
They stack crates or sticks into each other to gain access to a food source.
WOLFGANG KÖHLER observed z. For example, from 1913 to 1917 the behavior of
chimpanzees in an experimental station in Tenerife. He provided the chimpanzees
with various aids, such as boxes or sticks, whose use allowed them to reach a
high hanging food source. He was able to observe that not only did they come to
the diet through trial and error, but they were able to successfully solve the
problem by recombining different behaviors. They were able to choose the most
promising from different alternatives.
* Great
apes, who hold a mirror, recognize their reflection.
Sea otters use stones to smash the
hard shell of shells. Chimpanzees even make their own train by working branches
to fish termites.
* The
singing of the whales, the extensive sound repertoire of the green monkey and
in particular the artificial sign language of the bonobos KANZI are examples of
communication systems in the animal kingdom, which come very close to the term
"language".
The Bonobo KANZI has learned by
watching, understanding and imitating an artificial language, which consisted
of symbols that he could use a keyboard or picture panels.
If information is passed on through
learning or teaching within a population and successfully stored, this process
can be called a culture. If this information is passed on to the next
generation, it is also known as a tradition.
A well-known example of this is the
potato and wheat-washing redface macaque from the Japanese island of Koshima.
Sandy potatoes became cleaner and tastier (salt water), and the wheat swam on
the surface as the sand sank, making it easier to pick up. An adolescent female
made these discoveries and passed them on to her mother, close to female
relatives, and other peers. These in turn passed on the learned ability to
their children.
If one wants to understand the
causes of human behavior and culture, the human brain, as a more efficient
information store, certainly offers an explanatory approach. In addition,
mankind has succeeded in creating more information stores through the invention
of writing, vinyl, tape and the computer, which has given it a new dimension in
the transmission of information. Many species show top performance. But man
distinguishes himself through his complex language and his capacity for
abstraction, which form the basis of cultural evolution.
The following biological characteristics of man were the motor for his
cultural evolution:
* The
bipedy resulted in further anatomical changes: transformations of the spine,
pelvis and foot and the emergence of the gripping hand with an opposable thumb,
which makes it possible to make and use tools.
* Enlargement
of the brain as a result of a prolonged period of growth of skull and contents
(only the primate brain continues to grow after birth, longer in humans than in
other primates); This strongly developed cerebrum is the prerequisite for
lifelong learning and the development of creativity.
* The
extension of human development requires a longer period of parental care:
Children draw from the stock of experience and knowledge of the older
generations.
Transmission of accumulated
knowledge over several generations with the indispensable aid of human speech
in speech and writing. Prerequisite for the language development was the
development of a differentiated larynx.
One can divide cultural evolution into the following stages:
1-) Start
with the nomads who hunted and raised food in the African savanna 2 million
years ago. Tools were made, community activities organized, and a division of
labor took place.
2-) The development
of agriculture in Africa, Eurasia and America about 10 000 to 15 000 years ago
brought permanent settlements and the first cities were founded.
3-) The
industrial revolution began in the 18th century as a result of the
Enlightenment. Crucial was the invention of heat engines (steam engine,
electric motor, gasoline engine, etc.). From the first flight of the brothers
WRIGHT to the landing on the moon NEIL ARMSTRONGS passed less than a
generation. Characteristic of the cultural evolution is that it has hardly
played on a genetic level. The ability to construct computers is not anchored
in our genes, but the accumulated result of many generations of human
experience passed down through books, teachers, and parents.
The expansion of our brain has made
us an organism that is able to
- To
override their physical limitations;
- Purposefully provide for the dissemination and expansion of their knowledge;
- Shorten
the biological evolution or exceed its speed by several orders of magnitude;
- The
environment with z. B. of technology and medicine according to their needs.
The history of life has had some
crises so far, but the effects of Homo sapiens' creative power are the most
recent in terms of timing, and perhaps the most devastating in terms of assertiveness.
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