LINK The devotion of the human dad separates us from other apes | Aeon Essays
I love being a dad.
1
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
5 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.There are numerous examples of "good" dads in the other parts of the animal world ... including, lions, most apes, many monkeys, seahorses, etc. Even those which are not devoted fathers work, struggle, and kill to see that their offspring are able to mature and take care of themselves. While it is true that some lions, those taking over a pride, do sometimes kill the pride's cubs, that is a biological imperative to see to it that their genes are passed on to their own offspring. Seahorse males carry and give birth to their own live young.
Grayghost
Level 6
Jan 22, 2019
1
the premise is incorrect. [sciencedaily.com]
this one is interesting but you have to dig for the relevant parts: [pdfs.semanticscholar.org]
g
genessa
Level 8
Jan 21, 2019
1
I still say the involvement level and time spent is significantly different. Just because chimps can recognize their offspring and are involved to certain extent doesn't mean it's the same as what we recognize as fatherhood.
@tnorman1236 it isn't just a matter of recognizing their offspring and "involved to a certain extent" is dismissive of its true import.
g
@genessa I disagree.
@tnorman1236 i can see that.
g
My father was never a dad.
Lilac-JadeCanada
Level 9
Jan 21, 2019
2
I'm sorry.
@tnorman1236 Oh don't be, it is what it is. He was the child in the family, & if it was female, she should mother him. By the time I was 8 years old, I was expected to fall to....& being their only kid, I hated it.
This certainly has a lot of truth in it, but the author shoots himself in the foot to some extent by supporting it with the completely false idea that male apes of other species do not have any role in caring for infants. This is completely wrong, even though to a degree caring in most of the other apes is shared by whole extended family groups. A sad case of a good idea being overblown by hubris, and a wish to exaggerate.
Fernapple
Level 9
Jan 21, 2019
1
I think it has more to do with the amount of involvement and the length of care.
@tnorman1236 As I said, I am sure that there is a lot of truth in it. It was just that the writer tried to overstate his case by misrepresenting the truth about the other apes, which is not the standard you would hope for in a good achedemic article. He did state at least twice that other ape fathers had no involvement withthe young.
@Fernapple Point taken.
I've watched some nature films and chimps and apes seem to be taking care of their children.
nicknotes
Level 8
Jan 21, 2019
2
Very true, you spotted the same error as me.
@nicknotes The main difference between us is of course abstract language, which means that what one generation learned, can then be passed to the next for building on and thereby enabling progress. This was not even mentioned in the article, which furthers the impression that the author is distorting the facts, to big his insight up beyond its true worth.
@Fernapple I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure "distorting" the facts is what's happening. I think the role of teaching that the father takes on can include language and communication as well. I read to my kids until well after they were old enough to read on their own, because it was enjoyable family time, and I picked books that would challenge them, as well.
Yes...good point...Dad.@tnorman1236
@tnorman1236 Yes that is true, and as I said I have no problem with his view of human fathers. It is only his misrepresentation of apes I think is wrong.
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.