TY - JOUR
T1 - On the controversy over non-human culture
T2 - the reasons for disagreement and possible directions toward consensus
AU - Pagnotta, M.
N1 - This study was partially supported by a CNPq scholarship (130248/2011-8).
PY - 2014/11
Y1 - 2014/11
N2 - In recent decades, animal behaviorists have been using the term culture in relation to non-human animals, starting a controversy with social scientists that is still far from cooling down. I investigated the meanings of the term culture as used by social and cultural anthropologists, and also its recent use by ethologists, in order to better understand this controversy and identify possible paths that might lead to a consensus. I argue that disagreements in the level of theories involve definitions of culture and theories of behavioral development, while disagreements in the level of worldviews include the acceptance or rejection of the idea of a radical distinction between humans and other animals. Reaching a synthetic approach to (human and non-human) animal behavior depends on constructing a consensus in both levels. It is also necessary to discuss how to include symbolic communication in a comparative perspective. I conclude that this might lead to the abandonment or reconstruction of the related dichotomies of nature-culture, innate-acquired and gene-environment. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neotropical Behaviour.
AB - In recent decades, animal behaviorists have been using the term culture in relation to non-human animals, starting a controversy with social scientists that is still far from cooling down. I investigated the meanings of the term culture as used by social and cultural anthropologists, and also its recent use by ethologists, in order to better understand this controversy and identify possible paths that might lead to a consensus. I argue that disagreements in the level of theories involve definitions of culture and theories of behavioral development, while disagreements in the level of worldviews include the acceptance or rejection of the idea of a radical distinction between humans and other animals. Reaching a synthetic approach to (human and non-human) animal behavior depends on constructing a consensus in both levels. It is also necessary to discuss how to include symbolic communication in a comparative perspective. I conclude that this might lead to the abandonment or reconstruction of the related dichotomies of nature-culture, innate-acquired and gene-environment. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neotropical Behaviour.
KW - Anthropology
KW - Culture
KW - Ethology
KW - Psychology
U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.04.008
DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2014.04.008
M3 - Article
SN - 0376-6357
VL - 109
SP - 95
EP - 100
JO - Behavioural Processes
JF - Behavioural Processes
IS - Part A
ER -