Previously, I introduced you to The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from other Animals by psychology professor Thomas Suddendorf. I would like to share more of his research and his thoughts.
In chapter 6, “Mind Readers,” Suddendorf looks at humans’ ability to infer what others are thinking, or “reading minds.” This ability is “absolutely fundamental to our social lives,” he writes (114). It “permeates much of what we do” (116). Our entire educational structure is based on the capacity to anticipate what a student knows / does not know and respond appropriately.
So what about animals? Specifically, what about our “closest living ancestors?” Our supposedly closest links “largely avoid eye contact, and face-to-face interactions are surprisingly unusual. Even chimpanzees look into each others’ eyes only on rare occasions” (124). To put it briefly, “no other animal has anything like a theory of mind” (130). This comes after thirty years of intense research propelled by strong evolutionary biases.
Related to this chapter, the following focused on “Smarter Apes.” What about problem-solving skills? The potential to anticipate a problem, consider possible solutions, and then resolve the issue? Clearly humans have tremendous ability to do just that. Suddendorf points out that IQ tests are based on three broad aspects of intelligence (145): learning from experience, adapting to new environments, and reflecting on what you have accomplished.
The evolutionist’s conclusion after considering the research? He writes “…only humans construct theories about the underlying causal mechanisms that govern the world” (149). He continues (153):
Some animals can reason sometimes, under some circumstances. Nonetheless, there appear to be profound limits to their reasoning abilities. Even in the most convincing demonstrations, their performances are inconsistent. There is no sign yet of the construction of explicit theories that describe the relationship of forces. Some animals make tools, but none so far seem to design and refine tools by assembling various components and with various functions. …A key potential constraining factor is working-memory capacity.
At the end of that chapter, Suddendorf writes: “Only humans do science” (156). And then he quotes the Roman Cicero – “before all other things, man is distinguished by his pursuit and investigation of TRUTH.” Huh. That surprises no Christian, I am sure.
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Finally, as far as this devotional is concerned, in chapter eight, Suddendorf considers a distinctly human phenomenon – culture – in “A New Heritage.” It is as simple as this: “No monkey has any shoes – at least not any made and sold by other monkeys” (157).
Suddendorf uses several pages to discuss human culture and how complex it is, how involved and intertwined various aspects of our societies are. Certainly memory, as we have seen before, and language is crucial for creating culture and civilizations, two things which animals lack in any appreciable degree, as even evolutionists admit.
But when it comes to the animal world, “[c]ooperation with unrelated individuals is unusual” (172). Animals do have typical, anticipated responses to various stimuli in their environments but, in comparison to humans’, the number of “memes” among animals is “exceedingly small” (175). A “meme,” a term used by evolutionist Richard Dawkins, describes ideas, behaviors, even musical tunes that are passed along from human to human.
When it comes to culture, “there is a big quantitative difference between humans and our closest animal relatives. And it seems likely that a qualitative difference is responsible for this” (176). In fact, we have this expression in English: “Monkey see, monkey do.” In Romanian, to “imitate” someone can be translated as “to ape” someone. But Suddendorf comments: “there is little evidence to suggest that monkeys imitate in other ways, in spite of their reputation. Monkey see; monkey don’t do” (177).
The next time I share research from Suddendor, I’ll show you what he says about animals and “Right and Wrong.”
–Paul Holland
