The ape and the sushi master
Subtitle: cultural reflections by a primatologist
By: Frans de Waal.
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2001
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 433
Subjects: Animal behaviour.; Human behaviour.; Psychology, Comparative.
Description: "The Ape and the Sushi Master challenges our most basic assumptions about who we are and how we differ from other animals. In a delightful mix of autobiographical anecdote, rigorous research, and speculation, eminent primatologist Frans de Waal leads us to consider the possibility that apes have their own culture. We think that only we humans are culturally free and sophisticated, varying our behavior from group to group. But what if apes react to situations with behavior learned through observation of their elders (culture) rather than through pure genetic instinct (nature)? Such a scenario shakes our centuries-old convictions about what makes humans distinct. It also counters our recent tendency to look at other animals as slaves of their genetic programs: if animals learn from each other the way we do, this brings them much closer to us."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (389-405) and index.

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