In a previous post, I described how a dog’s barking and gaze alternation towards its owner appear to express meaning. The animal seems to ‘tell’ the human what it wants — an unreachable piece of food — and the human, recognising this, may respond. The situation looks like communication. This scene is a good reduction […]
ethology
Domestication of Humans: Abduction
Recent observations of white-faced capuchin monkeys on Jicarón Island in Panama have documented a particularly telling case of a broader behavioural theme. Over a 15-month period, juvenile male capuchins were seen abducting infant howler monkeys. They carried them for days, sometimes until the infants died. This behaviour does not resemble caregiving, nor does it fit […]
On the behaviour of language (5)
Human–dog interactions are a great way to demonstrate what I call the behaviour of language: that is, a fundamental difference between human and nonhuman communication and, consequently, between human and nonhuman cognition. Imagine a situation in which your dog is barking and whining at you (signalling) because it wants an item of food that only […]
On the behaviour of language 3
When someone trains a dog to follow a command, they are actively making the dog respond to signals such as a pointing gesture or a spoken word. As I wrote in my letter, they are establishing a signal–response relationship. This is made easier by dogs’ unusual attentiveness to human signals — a trait far stronger […]
On the behaviour of language 2
Humans have a strong need to communicate.I illustrated this in my previous post by comparing mother–infant communication in humans and chimpanzees. Human infants are surrounded by a flurry of signals directed at them — gestures, words, and tones from mothers and other elders — something unseen in other primates, where communication, if any, flows from […]