Yesterday, while watching Fareed Zakaria's program on CNN, I saw his interview with Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist who has studied the behavior of chimpanzees in their natural habitat. She reminisced about her discoveries in the field, especially regarding the similarities between chimpanzee and human behavior; this includes maternal devotion, empathy, the use of tools and a propensity toward violence, among other characteristics.
Her findings are not surprising since the human lineage diverged from chimpanzees just 6 to 8 million years ago, very recent in the span of natural history. Our own capacity for violence is all too evident though we like to believe that our superior intelligence protects us from such impulsive and savage behavior.
Then again, our large brains also gave birth to imagination which, in turn, led to mysticism, among the most potent triggers of hatred, discrimination, intolerance and violent behavior in human history. Indeed, we are superior to chimpanzees in many ways, including our achievements in the fields of slavery, torture, criminality and warfare.
Her findings are not surprising since the human lineage diverged from chimpanzees just 6 to 8 million years ago, very recent in the span of natural history. Our own capacity for violence is all too evident though we like to believe that our superior intelligence protects us from such impulsive and savage behavior.
Then again, our large brains also gave birth to imagination which, in turn, led to mysticism, among the most potent triggers of hatred, discrimination, intolerance and violent behavior in human history. Indeed, we are superior to chimpanzees in many ways, including our achievements in the fields of slavery, torture, criminality and warfare.
