Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind
Charles Darwin once observed, "He who understands baboons would do more towards metaphysics than Locke." In other words, to understand the evolution of the human mind we must study the minds of our closest relatives. PrimatologistsB Cheney and Seyfarth (How Monkeys See the World, 1990) have studied the same troop of chacma baboons since 1992, and here they demonstrate the importance of their social behavior. Living in a world of predators, baboons must rely on each other for safety, and the resulting large groups they live in are perfect hotbeds of complicated relationships. Matrilineal groups of females retain status by helping their own kin, whereas males act individually and for themselves. Females form short-term bonds with males for mating and long-term friendships with the same or other males for protection. But how do baboons view the world? How do they decide who to associate with, who to defer to, and who to dominate? Cheney and Seyfarth discuss these and other related questions in a style that both explains complex concepts and challenges the reader.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
