Bonobo-aka-pygmy-chimpanzee: Bonobo videos, some of de Waal, as well as the reference to "Peacemaking Among Primates" at World University, "Frans de Waal TED talk - Moral Behavior in Animals," Nontheist Friends, Quakers

Nontheist Friends,

There are many Bonobo videos, some of de Waal, as well as the reference to Peacemaking Among Primates at World University and School's Bonobo chimpanzee wiki page -
http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Bonobo_chimpanzee#Select_Video_and_Audio - all good to learn from, and potentially NtF-wise.

Eventually I think we'll be able to read, for example, "Peacemaking Among Primates" online at the Digital Public Library of America, accessible here at WUaS's Library Resources - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Library_Resources - but not yet, - and vis-a-vis nontheist Friendly peace making?

I'll look to add the reference S mentioned - "A Critical Notice on a Book on Primates and Philosophers" to this Bonobo Chimpanzee WUaS wiki page.

Chris de O, are you interested in exploring developing the WUaS Law School - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University_Law_School - over time, in another NTF peace-making vein (and per some other emails you've shared with this list)?

Friendly regards,
S


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You've probably seen this video before but maybe not-



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcJxRqTs5nk

Frans de Waal TED talk - Moral Behaviour in Animals. The bit with the capuchin monkeys at 12mins is hilarious and adorable.

NY Times article by Prof. Jonathan Haidt - http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/how-to-get-the-rich-to-share-the-marbles/ - summarising the results of the following experiment-

Hamann, Katharina, Felix Warneken, Julia R. Greenberg, and Michael Tomasello. "Collaboration encourages equal sharing in children but not in chimpanzees." Nature 476, no. 7360 (2011): 328-331. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7360/full/nature10278.html

Abstract: Humans actively share resources with one another to a much greater degree than do other great apes, and much human sharing is governed by social norms of fairness and equity1, 2, 3. When in receipt of a windfall of resources, human children begin showing tendencies towards equitable distribution with others at five to seven years of age4, 5, 6,7. Arguably, however, the primordial situation for human sharing of resources is that which follows cooperative activities such as collaborative foraging, when several individuals must share the spoils of their joint efforts8, 9, 10. Here we show that children of around three years of age share with others much more equitably in collaborative activities than they do in either windfall or parallel-work situations. By contrast, one of humans’ two nearest primate relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), ‘share’ (make food available to another individual) just as often whether they have collaborated with them or not. This species difference raises the possibility that humans’ tendency to distribute resources equitably may have its evolutionary roots in the sharing of spoils after collaborative efforts.

K

Hi K,

Thanks - great ... I had seen, enjoyed and added the video "Frans de Waal: Moral behavior in animals" to a variety of pages WUaS, but am looking to find it now again. I'll look to add some of the other resources you sent, as well, for example, perhaps to the http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Peace_and_Social_Justice_Studies.

Friendly regards,
Scott



Nontheist Friends,

One further thought about Bonobo chimpanzees and nontheist Friends and Quakers that came to me partly in SFFM Meeting yesterday:

Bonobo have been having a kind of love fest in what's now called the Congo (the DRC) and nearby in Africa for millions of years now - thanks to evolution by natural selection - with no known fatalities per primatologists, and which species (Pan paniscus) - anthropocentrically - seem to be egalitarian, peaceful, very sexual in all kinds of ways, and matriarchal (in contrast to Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens, all three of which are very closely related genetically). What can f/Friends learn from our closest genetic relative?

Quakers have a peace testimony (viz. The Elders at Balby) and seem to share a vision of peace - as a kind of culture (I'm an anthropologist) - with no known fatalities (that I know of) in 350 years, perhaps thanks, significantly, to this culture. NtF's bring a naturalist perspective to questions of Quakerism / Friendliness, in part. Again, in what ways might Quakers learn from Bonobo, even perhaps while trying to help save them from becoming bush meat, as a kind of NtF query?

With F/friendly regards,

Scott

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