The links and articles from this week informed me of just how many similarities there are between humans and non-human primates. I always had a general idea of how close we were genetically, but now I understand that our shared patterns expand all the way to innate behaviors. I was also surprised to see how many different species we are closely related to. It seems that previous classes only touched the surface of our ancestors- as I was always under the impression that monkeys/apes were one category and we somehow descended from them. I became fascinated with the idea of how important the evolution of non-human primates and their behavior is to our understanding of our own human instincts.
The article, “What is War Good for? Ask a Chimpanzee,” explains that humans and non-human primates share a lot of underlying behaviors and patterns. The author dives into and discusses the war going on between two neighboring groups of chimps. It begins with describing the attack of a lone chimpanzee but his rival group. He was brutally beat and presumed dead from his injuries. The attack was rooted from the separation of a once, single group. Since the split, there has been multiple attacks and murders of each side’s males. This type of behavior is also very prominent in humans. Humans partake in warfare frequently, and the aggressive behavior seems to be instinct for those who declare the war. There is a shared pattern between both examples: both species are comfortable with murdering one of their own- even if the issue does not seem detrimental. Although there is no set-in-stone reasoning for the chimps’ warfare, this example helps scientists try to explain human behavior.
The article discusses two ways to interpret the shared behavior patterns. 1.) Aggression and murderous behavior are innate and weaved into both DNA (considering we share almost 100% of our DNA with chimps) or 2.) Aggressive behavior is simply circumstantial, and we share the common instinct to use aggression first. This argument reminded me of the on-going discussion of Nature vs. Nurture that has seemed to follow me throughout my years as a student. The question continues to be unanswered, and there seems to be substantial evidence for both sides of the argument. Do murderers commit their crimes because they were born that way or has their environment growing up led them to it? Do chimps and humans participate in warfare, kill their own species, because it is instinctual or because they feel that they have to for pride or honor?
This week I was surprised to see just how similar humans are to different types of non-human primates. I could not believe that the article discussing chimpanzee warfare was actually about chimps and not humans because the behaviors were so similar. With both sets of DNA sharing so many similarities, you can assume that our genetic makeup is the reason we act in such ways. However, it is also possible that our behavior is a reaction between circumstance and instinct.
I find the point you make about humans and primates being comfortable with killing each other very interesting because the killing is not necessarily for survival but out of competition. Usually, killings are only done out of detriment and necessity so the fact that humans and primates have this in common is very quizzical. Also, the point about if aggression and violence is innate or learned is a curious question because it could go both ways but also you see the difference in personalities of people. There are shy and pacifistic people but then there are also people who are more prone to violence. So it is an interesting concept to think about because it could go both ways very easily but there could be some amount of both, like some innate accompanied with learned behavior. Interesting points to think about!