In his scientific essay “Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Connect” de Waal talks about the different ways primates are in sync. De Waal also talks about how imitation is important for primates. Frans de Waal provides many examples of imitation, including: laughing, birds flying from danger, and mood contagion, in order to show that imitation is important to primates survival and having a bond with one another and how it can happen across species. At the beginning of the essay, de Waal discusses the topic of shared laughter, which shows how we can create a bond with one another. De Waal states, “I often hear my chimps laugh during rough-and-tumble games, and I cannot suppress a chucky myself. It’s such a happy sound.” The words chuckle myself’’ suggest …show more content…
. This is important because if the bird wants to survive, then it must imitate the other birds and fly away as quickly as possible, even if the bird doesn’t see the threat. It's better to be safe than sorry, so the bird should fly away if it sees multiple birds fly away. This evidence shows why imitation is important to survival. Imitation is very important because if the bird follows the other birds by flying away then it will survive, but if it waits then it will get eaten. This connects to my thesis because it explains how imitation can contribute to a primates survival skill. At the end of the essay, de Waal transitions to mood contagion and how this can affect the bond that we have with other people. De Waal states, “The way our bodies—including voice, mood, posture, and so on—are influenced by surrounding bodies.” The word “influence” suggests that people around us can affect the way we act because our bodies try to build a connection with them. Copying or imitating the way others act builds a connection with them because it lets us feel the way they
Although modern science has allowed us to develop many complex medicines, laughter is still the strongest one available in the real world and in the book. Laughter proves to be a strong medicine in more ways than one and is completely free, allowing anyone to use it at anytime. It allows us to connect socially with people, it can be used as a way of overthrowing power, and it is good for your health. As Randle McMurphy showed in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, laughter can lighten the mood in the darkest situations.
Laughing is resorted to in times where we need to laugh. It’s an escape from reality, its comfort, its fear. Laughing subdues any emotion that is too high strung in our system. It lets it vapor out in a melancholy form that helps us cope with problems that no one else can really understand and help us with. In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest it allowed emotional tension escape from the patients and made nurse Ratched lose her ward.
In the book Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, Jay lives near monkeys that will make him rich if he catches them. The book took place in the Cherokee Ozarks of Oklahoma in the 19th century. The protagonist of the book is Jay Berry, a 14-year-old boy who is very arrogant but changes as the book ends. The monkeys are obviously the antagonist of the novel. The monkeys are extremely intelligent creatures, especially Jumbo, the smart leader of the pack. The conflict of the story is man vs. nature. In the novel the Summer of the Monkeys, the importance of overcoming fears through its development of the plot and theme.
As stated in the article, “each ape’s social success depends on what other group members are up to, natural selection has favored the capacity for social maneuvers and [superior intelligence]” (2). Natural selection also favors apes because they are not ones to dwell or hold grudges on other apes when they get into feuds. Frans de Waal, a primatologist at the Arnheim Zoo in the Netherlands, shows how natural selection has also promoted the ability to strengthen the relationships of others. In his example, he gives an account of Mama, the most influential female in the colony, who would reconcile other apes after they got into
This book is about so many things, it is hard to stay on one topic for any length of time. In order to focus on the laugh and laughing as a healing agent, I would like to look towards other influential writers and thinkers to tie together laughing and healing. First, let’s see what laughter is according to Meriam Webster: laughter- n. a cause of merriment. Using this simple definition, we can assume that laughter can come from any form of merriment or emotion like triumph, contempt, relief, and almost any other emotion there is. It is easy to picture in your head different underlying emotions in laughter; the sinister laughs of witches and ghosts, the insincere, fake laughs you hear after pointless, humorless attempts at jokes on the six o’clock news, to the silent laughs of mimes and clowns that fill the people around them with a happy feeling. These are all examples of what laughter is and how it is used. But why do we do it? What in nature created the laugh and made it so successful?
In primates such as chimpanzees it is imperative to look at their culture to understand their intelligence. Culture in this circumstance means a specific set of behaviors obtained through learning in a population/species. Chimpanzee’s intelligence is quite unique how they interact with their environment and use it to their benefit just like humans. They have the ability to overcome the obstacles of everyday life through learning and the ability to use tools to create a better quality of life. The complexity of their intellect is different from any other animal ever seen. A significant part of chimpanzee intelligence that sets them apart from other primates and puts them closer to humans is the way they exhibit social learning within their culture and interactions within their environment.
Quiatt, D., & Reynolds, V. (1993). Primate behaviour: information, social knowledge, and the evolution of culture. Cambridge [England: Cambridge University Press].
According to National Geographic, scientists have sequenced the genome of the chimpanzee and found that humans are 98.5% similar to the ape species. The chimpanzee is our closest relative in the animal kingdom; however, some people are not aware of our resembling traits with chimpanzees. Jane Goodall’s, In the Shadow of Man, describes some similar traits humans and chimpanzees have, such as their facial expressions and emotions, use of tools, and diet. Chimpanzees portray their emotions through a number of facial expressions and mannerisms. Just like humans, they undergo mood swings, jealous rages, and laughter.
Chimpanzees (Figure 1) are the closest living relatives to us, and they share 99 percent of our DNA (1). Chimpanzees have distinct group territoriality. Male chimpanzees “patrol” near the boundary between the two ranges, at that time they move very carefully and quietly, and they can cease to listen and observe the range of their neighbors. Patrolling individuals are likely to face cruel and violent attacks, injuries, and even deaths. Intense excitement and aggressive display can occur if the two parties of two communities encounter each other. Usually, the larger group holds its ground, and interaction between different chimpanzees communities may also lead to gang attack. Expanding the community range is necessary to their social organizations, the males cooperation can defend the territory and increase the reproductive rates of the resident females by excluding female and male competitors. Body contact is common in their social life such as grooming (1). Usually, chimpanzees groom each other as a way to show harmony and solidarity in their society (Figure 2). Grooming each other demonstrates the deep bonds and close relationship between them. In addition, they can even hug, hold hands, touch, kiss each other as a way of emotional expression (2).
Language is commonly held to be the province of humans, but other inhabitants of earth possess their own forms of communication. Birds, dolphins, and whales are some of those that have a language. Primates also use vocal communication with each other. Their utterances have varied uses and volumes, with each primate’s voice being distinct just as human voices are. These unique calls have given researchers insight into the social workings of primate groups. The very fact that primates have a language offers insight into the evolution of language and calls into question what the term human truly means.
Laughter is an interesting topic. Mainly because of the lack of thought that goes with it as to why we laugh. In an article titled Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic by Henri Bergson, the theory behind why things are funny is explored. He mentions many different things in his article pertaining to the comic, however, there are a few that stand out more than others. He talks directly about the fact that things are only funny if they relate to humans. Then he touches on the idea that accidents are funnier than planned events. Finally, he speaks on laughter being directly related to social setting. The 1992 film Noises Off is a perfect demonstration of everything that Bergson writes about. Henri Bergson’s essay on laughter is perfectly supported by the film Noises Off.
3. Apte, Mahadev L. Humor and Laughter: An Anthropological Approach. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1985.
Monkey’s Paw Prequel There was once an old fakir who lived in India. He created something that was called “the monkey’s paw.” The monkey’s paw could grant three wishes. The old fakir saw a man walking by who was just staring at the ground looking at the dirt.. The old fakir said “Would you like to buy this monkey’s paw?
Recently, art subjects in schools have been drastically decreasing. Massive budget cuts and an emphasis on core classes have been ridding the schools of a very important part of a child’s learning. The arts are a very important part of the educational system, they help at risk youth and they aid in children’s development, the arts have been shown to improve a child’s performance in classes such as english and math, also the arts give a child a means of expression in multiple forms which keeps them engaged.
There is an upheaval in the rise Mind-related diseases like nervous breakdowns anxiety, sleeplessness and depression. Laughter had a positive effect on many people who were on heavy anti-depressant pills and tranquillizers. Now they are getting better quality of sleep and decrease in the depressive symptoms.