I definately like chapter 9 the best! And I'm not just saying that because it was shorter than chapters 1 and 5 and it had pictures. I like chapter 9 because it is more relateable. I never realized how much we see ourselves in animals when we use those sayings that refer to them. I found it most interesting when they talked about what makes the head chimpanzee dominant and the other chimpanzees that tried to over throw them. Also all the violence that occurs between the chimpanzees over power and dominance caught my attention because it is something you don't expect from cute and cuddely monkeys, it sounds like something you would see in a movie about mafias or something. In conclusion, chapter 9 sparked my interest the most so this is the chapter I want to analyze.
Chapter nine is definitely my favorite! The other chapters were great as well but chapter nine shows that animals are so close to humans and we don't even realize it. I am a huge animal fan and I am so for animals. I have more sympathy for them than humans lol but this chapter shows that we express ourselves in their shoes, hypothetically speaking of course but that shows it again. We put animals and humans together so much in our day to day lives and we never realize it. Animals are very important and have the same thoughts and feelings as we do and us giving them human like characteristics helps humans better understand animals and be there for them more. I would love to do chapter nine and hopes that it shows people that animals are so much like us and change their views on them. :)
This book, although a bit random at times, is very interesting to me. I hardly find a book that I can actually sit down to read, and stay interested enough to finish the reading assignment. (I guess you could say that reading isn’t exactly "my thing"). I was very surprised when I actually finished the prologue and then chapter 1, and then chapter 5, and then chapter 9. Each chapter kept me intrigued and turning the pages all the way through. I finished each chapter within one sitting, which is not normal for me. When I first went and bought the book, I sighed as I read the back cover, because I honestly thought it was going to be another one of those readings where I had to struggle to turn the first page.
I believe my interest in this book is partially due to the fact that I never really thought about half of the concepts de Waal introduces. Also because I agree with most of what he says. I can actually understand what he means when he claims certain points, even if he sometimes uses some complex vocabulary. I really enjoyed all 4 chapters (I'm including the prologue) I read. I think I'm going to have a hard time picking one for my essay assignment. Each chapter has very interesting, strong claims, and all are well written to the point that I kind of want to sit here and analyze and chart them all! (ONLY KIND OF)
My favorite chapter so far out of the book is chapter 5. I found chapter 5 easy to read. A lot of the claims made in this chapter were easily to relate to. One claim made is that "Persistance of habits beyond the life of the initiator is one of the characteristics of culture" (pg. 211) This is so true. Culture, and traditions come from way back, but if every generation passes if on, the culture stays alive. Just because you weren't born yet when the initiator started a tradition, doesn't mean you can't be a part of it. Animals and humans share this quality. They pass down information, or traditions through generations. Its just another proof that animals do have culture, in the same way that humans do. And lastly, i thought it was really cute that the monkeys went to get the potatoes that were dumped a few times a year.
So far I’ve read the prologue, chapter 1 and chapter 5. All three of these have been very interesting and full of claims and plenty of rhetorical strategies. Despite all three being great, I liked the prologue better than the rest. I really liked the prologue because its where De Waal sets the tone, the main claim and the whole outline of the rest of his book. Its easy to follow his claims and point out what they are in this chapter. I would also like to talk about his definition of culture which he mentions and try and extend, illustrate, complicate and clarify through my project. I really liked many of the examples and illustrations he uses in the prologue and I think I can put together a good project based on the claims De Waal presents in his prologue.
I'm going with chapter 5 on this one. De Waal reveals his opinions on the scientific community alot in this chapter and I think its crucial to understanding his tone in this entire book. He really had some trouble in his career dealing with scientists who would refuse to accept the legitimacy of his research and findings. It's important to remember that this book was written for an audience that was much less accepting of the possibility of animal culture than our class is.
Personally, I really love chapter 9. I think that if anyone reads this chapter than their mind will open up to a brand new thought process about animals. Chapter 9 is interesting to me because I find it amazing that animals have some of the same qualities as humans. I knew that we were similiar, but not so much when it came to personality traits. De Waal stores so much information in this chapter that it gets kind of hard to retain, thats why it interests me also. With the research that I have conducted I have found that the claim that I am writing on is very true, animals show dominance just as humans do. I find it very amazing that dominance and power is a big thing in animal culture as it is in human culture. Everyone wants to feel as if they're in charge and running something, so I think that chapter 9 is a great chapter to study and retain information about in this paper.
The chapter I'm choosing to write about is chapter 5. Out of the three chapters we had to read, this is the one that made everything simple and easier to understand. I also like how there's several viewpoints on animal culture and how one has to switch the glasses they are wearing to be able to have a broader view so they can be able to see the whole picture. A lot of the claims made in this chapter are straightforward so you get what De Waal is trying to tell you without having to look through everything too much.
I want to focus on chapter five. I think it was the most interesting because it centered around how that apes interact with eachother and learn from eachother. I like that the chapter is mainly filled with evidence that supports his claim that animals do have culture. I think he does a good job of sticking to that claim through out the chapter, and gives many examples as to why that is true. My favorite sub-claim of this chapter is when he says that we have to look through different glasses in order to see whats really there. I think this will be incorporated into my paper alot because its true. If we only have a certain viewpoint about everything, we wont be able to appreciate anything. I really enjoyed this chapter because De Waal makes the reader realize a variety of different things that relate to their lives, along with the lives of the animals.
I decided to write my paper on Chapter 9, which deals with the topic of dominance. After reading the prologue and other three chapters, I thought that further exploring self-esteem and how humans are not the only ones to have this trait would be interesting. i enjoyed reading the various illustrations that de Waal included in this chapter. For example, in the section called "Nikkie's Ghost" de Waal describes an instance where two chimpanzees became allies and worked together to get rid of an alpha male which they disliked. Once the dominant male died, they no longer kept close. But, when they were shown a video of Nikkie, they recognized the chimp and immediately went back to their old ways of supporting eachother. This reaction shows that animals such as chimps work together in a group to decide who can have the roll of the dominant leader. Although Nikkie attempted to assume power, he was soon pushed down from his position by other group members. Without the support of the other chimps, nikkie was not able to keep the dominant position. This chapter has many good claims that link back to the idea that humans are not the only species that has switched from a society run on instincts to one depending on culture. By understanding this, we can stop our arrogant ways and finally understand our place in the world. The whole concept of animals having their own social hierarchy and that the leaders greatly depend on the lower-ranking group members for support seems very interesting to me. Previously, I thought that animals just simply took the dominant role by force, but now de Waal's claim of dominance being a social phenomenon, rather than an individual one makes perfect sense.
Out of all the chapters I have read, I have chosen Chapter 5 “Predicting Mount Fuji, and a Visit to Koshima, Where the Monkeys Salt Their Potatoes”. I want to focus on De Waal's arguements that we must view things with different perspcetives in order to see the overall picture and that animals have culture. Through multiple illustrations and examples De Waal was able to show how animals have culture. De Waal's main illustration was the monkeys washing potatoes on Koshima Island. He states that after a while the monkey “improved her technique by going deeper into the water, holding the potato in one hand and rubbing off the mud with the other” (200). He also mentions how the monkeys used pools of water to seperate wheat and sand; also how the monkeys learned how to eat raw fish. De Waal didn't stop at just the examples of the monkeys. He gave many other examples of culture among all types of animals like kittens, killer whales, and rats. What I found most interesting was De Waal's quote, "“We cannot afford to look through a single pair of glasses; we need lots of glasses to see reality” (182). He argues in order to see the truth we cannot look at things with formed opinions. We have to view them with our eyes open. He does not just compare this to animals culture. De Waal relates it to the way we view other human cultures around us. He talks about how he learned many languages and visited different countries. Since he was exposed to so many cultures it was easy to view things with an open mind and look at things through many lenses. I liked how he used his personal examples to relate how we should view everything around us including culture among animals.
After reading the Prologue, chapter 1, and chapter 9, i have decided to go with Chapter one. i found this chapter to be the most interesting. i was really intrigued by the first paragraph. i thought that the fact scientist are suppose to view animals in a objective fashion to be very odd. i know that if i was a scientist and dedicated a huge part of my life to studying a certain species, i would not view them that way. i am not one to risk my life just to learn ore about animals. Scientist do it because they care about that species and want to learn more about them. in this case, chapter one they are studying these animals to prove animals have culture. The second topic i was interested in talking about was anthropomorphism which is the majority of the chapter. Being an animal lover, i would agree with De Waal's argument that animals have culture (De Waal, pg 33). However, i am also the one that talks to her dogs and try and push human characteristics on my dogs. i didnt realize till this chapter that what my dogs are feeling and what i think they are feeling arent the same. De Waal's main claim in chapter one is "if we can push aside anhropomorphism and stop reducing animals to objects, then we will be able to see the similarities between humans and animals and realize that animals have culture." (pg 36). i will focus on this main claim and try to break down anthropomorphism because i feel it is a complex topic that should be explored.
After reading the Prologue and the chapters, I found that chapter nine was the most interesting. De Waal describes Maslow and the observations he made about monkeys. “Turning his head to human behavior, Maslow observed in some people the same self-confident attitude that he had seen in his monkeys” (De Waal 298). Maslow later came up with the concept of “self esteem” (298). He believed that monkeys and humans shared self esteem which explained why some monkeys showed cocky behavior. However, De Waal disagreed with this concept and concluded that “self esteem as a goal has absolutely no meaning in a harsh world of survival. I agree with De Waal because in reality, if a monkey has confidence, what can he or she do with it? Just because you have self esteem does not mean you will be on top and rule. I highly doubt other monkeys would care if another monkey had self esteem. This is even evident in our own world. I enjoy how De Waal choses to make his own claims whether or not it mean disagreeing with Maslow. There is so much to take from this chapter which is why I have chosen it.
I will talk about the context of chapter 5. This chapter struck my attention in many ways. Partly because I am already a firm believer that animals have emotions and culture. I particularly like the fact that he challenges something which is thought to be the norm, the belief that humans are the only species with culture. Another thing that caught my attention is the way he lays out all of his claims, evidence, and his illustrations. All three worked together perfectly helping you understand the message that he is trying to say.
My favorite was Chapter 9, I also liked the prologue but I thought Chapter 9 was more interesting and more fun. The Nikkie story and how Dandy and Yeroen kill him. It was a struggle for power and led to poor Nikkie's death. Adang showed them the video of how they killed her and they reacted with surprise and fear. It just comes to show that they have a conscience too and people many times do not take them so seriously. It sticks to the claim about dominance being a social phenomenon. Who would think it would even lead to death!
The chapter that I have chosen is chapter 1. This chapter really interests me because is the beginning sections De Waal focuses on what events in his childhood influenced him to become the great scientist he is today. "Almost every Saturday when i was a boy, I jumped on my bike to go to the polder, a Dutch word for low-lying land reclaimed from the water",(43). He illustrates how even as a child he loved observing animals. He mentions how scientist need to love what they are researching. He obviously loved what he was researching. With his stories, that shows the reader that he loved observing animals his entire life. To see someone so passionate about their work is very admirable.
- I really liked chapter 9 because I would have never really noticed that the power that apes go after is the same as we as humans always wanting to be the best, out of everyone else. Dominance also being a big part in our life and theirs, this just goes to show that we are so much alike animals. Our charteristics and its not just skin deep. I got full understanding of it when the author shared the story of the monkeys and how they joined together to get rid of the other "opponent", so to have better chances of one of them becomiing the leaders.
I definately like chapter 9 the best! And I'm not just saying that because it was shorter than chapters 1 and 5 and it had pictures. I like chapter 9 because it is more relateable. I never realized how much we see ourselves in animals when we use those sayings that refer to them. I found it most interesting when they talked about what makes the head chimpanzee dominant and the other chimpanzees that tried to over throw them. Also all the violence that occurs between the chimpanzees over power and dominance caught my attention because it is something you don't expect from cute and cuddely monkeys, it sounds like something you would see in a movie about mafias or something. In conclusion, chapter 9 sparked my interest the most so this is the chapter I want to analyze.
ReplyDeleteChapter nine is definitely my favorite! The other chapters were great as well but chapter nine shows that animals are so close to humans and we don't even realize it. I am a huge animal fan and I am so for animals. I have more sympathy for them than humans lol but this chapter shows that we express ourselves in their shoes, hypothetically speaking of course but that shows it again. We put animals and humans together so much in our day to day lives and we never realize it. Animals are very important and have the same thoughts and feelings as we do and us giving them human like characteristics helps humans better understand animals and be there for them more. I would love to do chapter nine and hopes that it shows people that animals are so much like us and change their views on them. :)
ReplyDeleteThis book, although a bit random at times, is very interesting to me. I hardly find a book that I can actually sit down to read, and stay interested enough to finish the reading assignment. (I guess you could say that reading isn’t exactly "my thing"). I was very surprised when I actually finished the prologue and then chapter 1, and then chapter 5, and then chapter 9. Each chapter kept me intrigued and turning the pages all the way through. I finished each chapter within one sitting, which is not normal for me. When I first went and bought the book, I sighed as I read the back cover, because I honestly thought it was going to be another one of those readings where I had to struggle to turn the first page.
ReplyDeleteI believe my interest in this book is partially due to the fact that I never really thought about half of the concepts de Waal introduces. Also because I agree with most of what he says. I can actually understand what he means when he claims certain points, even if he sometimes uses some complex vocabulary. I really enjoyed all 4 chapters (I'm including the prologue) I read. I think I'm going to have a hard time picking one for my essay assignment. Each chapter has very interesting, strong claims, and all are well written to the point that I kind of want to sit here and analyze and chart them all! (ONLY KIND OF)
My favorite chapter so far out of the book is chapter 5. I found chapter 5 easy to read. A lot of the claims made in this chapter were easily to relate to. One claim made is that "Persistance of habits beyond the life of the initiator is one of the characteristics of culture" (pg. 211) This is so true. Culture, and traditions come from way back, but if every generation passes if on, the culture stays alive. Just because you weren't born yet when the initiator started a tradition, doesn't mean you can't be a part of it. Animals and humans share this quality. They pass down information, or traditions through generations. Its just another proof that animals do have culture, in the same way that humans do. And lastly, i thought it was really cute that the monkeys went to get the potatoes that were dumped a few times a year.
ReplyDeleteSo far I’ve read the prologue, chapter 1 and chapter 5. All three of these have been very interesting and full of claims and plenty of rhetorical strategies. Despite all three being great, I liked the prologue better than the rest. I really liked the prologue because its where De Waal sets the tone, the main claim and the whole outline of the rest of his book. Its easy to follow his claims and point out what they are in this chapter. I would also like to talk about his definition of culture which he mentions and try and extend, illustrate, complicate and clarify through my project. I really liked many of the examples and illustrations he uses in the prologue and I think I can put together a good project based on the claims De Waal presents in his prologue.
ReplyDeleteI'm going with chapter 5 on this one. De Waal reveals his opinions on the scientific community alot in this chapter and I think its crucial to understanding his tone in this entire book. He really had some trouble in his career dealing with scientists who would refuse to accept the legitimacy of his research and findings. It's important to remember that this book was written for an audience that was much less accepting of the possibility of animal culture than our class is.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I really love chapter 9. I think that if anyone reads this chapter than their mind will open up to a brand new thought process about animals. Chapter 9 is interesting to me because I find it amazing that animals have some of the same qualities as humans. I knew that we were similiar, but not so much when it came to personality traits.
ReplyDeleteDe Waal stores so much information in this chapter that it gets kind of hard to retain, thats why it interests me also. With the research that I have conducted I have found that the claim that I am writing on is very true, animals show dominance just as humans do. I find it very amazing that dominance and power is a big thing in animal culture as it is in human culture. Everyone wants to feel as if they're in charge and running something, so I think that chapter 9 is a great chapter to study and retain information about in this paper.
The chapter I'm choosing to write about is chapter 5. Out of the three chapters we had to read, this is the one that made everything simple and easier to understand. I also like how there's several viewpoints on animal culture and how one has to switch the glasses they are wearing to be able to have a broader view so they can be able to see the whole picture. A lot of the claims made in this chapter are straightforward so you get what De Waal is trying to tell you without having to look through everything too much.
ReplyDeleteI want to focus on chapter five. I think it was the most interesting because it centered around how that apes interact with eachother and learn from eachother. I like that the chapter is mainly filled with evidence that supports his claim that animals do have culture. I think he does a good job of sticking to that claim through out the chapter, and gives many examples as to why that is true. My favorite sub-claim of this chapter is when he says that we have to look through different glasses in order to see whats really there. I think this will be incorporated into my paper alot because its true. If we only have a certain viewpoint about everything, we wont be able to appreciate anything. I really enjoyed this chapter because De Waal makes the reader realize a variety of different things that relate to their lives, along with the lives of the animals.
ReplyDeleteI decided to write my paper on Chapter 9, which deals with the topic of dominance. After reading the prologue and other three chapters, I thought that further exploring self-esteem and how humans are not the only ones to have this trait would be interesting. i enjoyed reading the various illustrations that de Waal included in this chapter. For example, in the section called "Nikkie's Ghost" de Waal describes an instance where two chimpanzees became allies and worked together to get rid of an alpha male which they disliked. Once the dominant male died, they no longer kept close. But, when they were shown a video of Nikkie, they recognized the chimp and immediately went back to their old ways of supporting eachother. This reaction shows that animals such as chimps work together in a group to decide who can have the roll of the dominant leader. Although Nikkie attempted to assume power, he was soon pushed down from his position by other group members. Without the support of the other chimps, nikkie was not able to keep the dominant position. This chapter has many good claims that link back to the idea that humans are not the only species that has switched from a society run on instincts to one depending on culture. By understanding this, we can stop our arrogant ways and finally understand our place in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of animals having their own social hierarchy and that the leaders greatly depend on the lower-ranking group members for support seems very interesting to me. Previously, I thought that animals just simply took the dominant role by force, but now de Waal's claim of dominance being a social phenomenon, rather than an individual one makes perfect sense.
Out of all the chapters I have read, I have chosen Chapter 5 “Predicting Mount Fuji, and a Visit to Koshima, Where the Monkeys Salt Their Potatoes”. I want to focus on De Waal's arguements that we must view things with different perspcetives in order to see the overall picture and that animals have culture. Through multiple illustrations and examples De Waal was able to show how animals have culture. De Waal's main illustration was the monkeys washing potatoes on Koshima Island. He states that after a while the monkey “improved her technique by going deeper into the water, holding the potato in one hand and rubbing off the mud with the other” (200). He also mentions how the monkeys used pools of water to seperate wheat and sand; also how the monkeys learned how to eat raw fish. De Waal didn't stop at just the examples of the monkeys. He gave many other examples of culture among all types of animals like kittens, killer whales, and rats. What I found most interesting was De Waal's quote, "“We cannot afford to look through a single pair of glasses; we need lots of glasses to see reality” (182). He argues in order to see the truth we cannot look at things with formed opinions. We have to view them with our eyes open. He does not just compare this to animals culture. De Waal relates it to the way we view other human cultures around us. He talks about how he learned many languages and visited different countries. Since he was exposed to so many cultures it was easy to view things with an open mind and look at things through many lenses. I liked how he used his personal examples to relate how we should view everything around us including culture among animals.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Prologue, chapter 1, and chapter 9, i have decided to go with Chapter one. i found this chapter to be the most interesting. i was really intrigued by the first paragraph. i thought that the fact scientist are suppose to view animals in a objective fashion to be very odd. i know that if i was a scientist and dedicated a huge part of my life to studying a certain species, i would not view them that way. i am not one to risk my life just to learn ore about animals. Scientist do it because they care about that species and want to learn more about them. in this case, chapter one they are studying these animals to prove animals have culture.
ReplyDeleteThe second topic i was interested in talking about was anthropomorphism which is the majority of the chapter. Being an animal lover, i would agree with De Waal's argument that animals have culture (De Waal, pg 33). However, i am also the one that talks to her dogs and try and push human characteristics on my dogs. i didnt realize till this chapter that what my dogs are feeling and what i think they are feeling arent the same.
De Waal's main claim in chapter one is "if we can push aside anhropomorphism and stop reducing animals to objects, then we will be able to see the similarities between humans and animals and realize that animals have culture." (pg 36). i will focus on this main claim and try to break down anthropomorphism because i feel it is a complex topic that should be explored.
After reading the Prologue and the chapters, I found that chapter nine was the most interesting. De Waal describes Maslow and the observations he made about monkeys. “Turning his head to human behavior, Maslow observed in some people the same self-confident attitude that he had seen in his monkeys” (De Waal 298). Maslow later came up with the concept of “self esteem” (298). He believed that monkeys and humans shared self esteem which explained why some monkeys showed cocky behavior. However, De Waal disagreed with this concept and concluded that “self esteem as a goal has absolutely no meaning in a harsh world of survival. I agree with De Waal because in reality, if a monkey has confidence, what can he or she do with it? Just because you have self esteem does not mean you will be on top and rule. I highly doubt other monkeys would care if another monkey had self esteem. This is even evident in our own world. I enjoy how De Waal choses to make his own claims whether or not it mean disagreeing with Maslow. There is so much to take from this chapter which is why I have chosen it.
ReplyDeleteI will talk about the context of chapter 5. This chapter struck my attention in many ways. Partly because I am already a firm believer that animals have emotions and culture. I particularly like the fact that he challenges something which is thought to be the norm, the belief that humans are the only species with culture. Another thing that caught my attention is the way he lays out all of his claims, evidence, and his illustrations. All three worked together perfectly helping you understand the message that he is trying to say.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was Chapter 9, I also liked the prologue but I thought Chapter 9 was more interesting and more fun. The Nikkie story and how Dandy and Yeroen kill him. It was a struggle for power and led to poor Nikkie's death. Adang showed them the video of how they killed her and they reacted with surprise and fear. It just comes to show that they have a conscience too and people many times do not take them so seriously. It sticks to the claim about dominance being a social phenomenon. Who would think it would even lead to death!
ReplyDeleteThe chapter that I have chosen is chapter 1. This chapter really interests me because is the beginning sections De Waal focuses on what events in his childhood influenced him to become the great scientist he is today. "Almost every Saturday when i was a boy, I jumped on my bike to go to the polder, a Dutch word for low-lying land reclaimed from the water",(43). He illustrates how even as a child he loved observing animals. He mentions how scientist need to love what they are researching. He obviously loved what he was researching. With his stories, that shows the reader that he loved observing animals his entire life. To see someone so passionate about their work is very admirable.
ReplyDelete- I really liked chapter 9 because I would have never really noticed that the power that apes go after is the same as we as humans always wanting to be the best, out of everyone else. Dominance also being a big part in our life and theirs, this just goes to show that we are so much alike animals. Our charteristics and its not just skin deep. I got full understanding of it when the author shared the story of the monkeys and how they joined together to get rid of the other "opponent", so to have better chances of one of them becomiing the leaders.
ReplyDelete