Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind

by Cheney, Dorothy L.

• ISBN13: 9780226102436
• ISBN10: 0226102432
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

In 1838 Charles Darwin jotted in a notebook, "He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke." Fifteen years ago, following the extraordinary success of theirHow Monkeys See the World, Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth set out to take up Darwin's challenge.Baboon Metaphysicsis their fascinating response. Cheney and Seyfarth set up camp in Botswana's Okavango Delta, where they could intimately observe baboons and their social world. Baboons are a perfect model for such a study because they live in groups of up to 150, including a handful of males and eight or nine matrilineal families of females. Such numbers force baboons to form a complicated mix of short-term bonds for mating and longer-term friendships based on careful calculations of status and individual need. The result is enough interpersonal drama to rival Jane Austen, as the baboons make and break alliances and try to anticipate the actions of their friends and rivals, all while avoiding frequent attacks by predators. ButBaboon Metaphysicsis concerned with much more than just baboons' social organizationCheney and Seyfarth aim to fully comprehend the intelligence that underlies it. How do baboons actually conceive of the world and their place in it? Using innovative field experiments, the authors test whether baboons understand kinship relations, how they make use of vocal communication, and how they manage the stress and dangers of life in the wild. They learn that for baboons, just as for humans, family and friends hold the key to mitigating the ill effects of grief, stress, and anxiety. Written with a scientist's precision and a nature-lover's eye,Baboon Metaphysicsgives us an unprecedented and compelling glimpse into the mind of another species.

Author Biography

Dorothy L. Cheney is professor of biology and Robert M. Seyfarth is professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. They are the authors of How Monkeys See the World, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

The Evolution of Mind

The Primate Mind in Myth and Legend

Habitat, Infanticide, and Predation

Males: Competition, Infanticide, and Friendship

Females: Kinship, Rank, Competition, and Cooperation

Social Knowledge

The Social Intelligence Hypothesis

Theory of Mind

Self-Awareness and Consciousness

Communication

Precursors to Language

Baboon Metaphysics

Appendix

References

Index

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