Nim Chimpsky
Subtitle: the chimp who would be human
By: Elizabeth Hess
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 369
ISBN-13: 9780553803839
Subjects: Nim Chimpsky (Chimpanzee); Animal Behavior; Psychology; Sign Language; Pan troglodytes; Sign language; Chimpanzees; Animal Experimentation; Human-animal communication; Biography
Description: Could a chimpanzee raised from infancy by a human family bridge the gap between species--and change the way we think about the boundaries between animal and human? Here is the strange and moving account of an experiment intended to answer these questions, and of the chimp who was chosen to see it through. Columbia University psychologist Herbert S. Terrace's goal was to teach a chimpanzee American Sign Language in order to refute Noam Chomsky's assertion that language is an exclusively human trait. Nim Chimpsky, the baby chimp, was "adopted" by a graduate student. At first his progress exceeded all expectations--his charm and mischievous sense of humor endeared him to everyone. But no one had thought through the long-term consequences of raising a chimp in the human world. Nim's story will move and entertain at the same time that it challenges us to ask what it means to be human.--From publisher description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-356) and index.