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A whale of a tale: Calling it culture doesn't help

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2001

David Premack
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 dpremack@aol.com
Marc D. Hauser
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Program in Neurosciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

Abstract

We argue that the function of human culture is to clarify what people value. Consequently, nothing in cetacean behavior (or any other animal's behavior) comes remotely close to this aspect of human culture. This does not mean that the traditions observed in cetaceans are uninteresting, but rather, that we need to understand why they are so different from our own.

Type
Brief Report
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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