Monkeys have a sense of morality

[UM-Bot]

A new study has shown that apes and monkeys possess a rudimentary sense of right or wrong, can judge fairness and are even able to empathise with other animals.

"Monkeys and apes have a sense of morality and the rudimentary ability to tell right from wrong, according to new research. In a series of studies scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer altruistic help and empathise when a fellow animal is ill or in difficulties. They even appear to have consciences and the ability to remember obligations. "

View: Full Article | Source: Times Online

[raphnix]

I think not only monkeys has the capability to observe morality but also some other animals like pets especially dogs. Since like other humans, only the urge of instinct that either triggers our being wild or being compassionate. It may also depend with a mammal's social environment.

[Lt_Ripley]

'Science Café' to explore the human nature of chimps with Jill Pruetz on Jan. 21

AMES, Iowa -- Jill Pruetz has seen the chimpanzees at her Senegal research site do some very "human" things. They hunt with spear-shaped tools. They seek cool relief in caves when the African weather gets too hot. They share their food with others.

An Iowa State University associate professor of anthropology, Pruetz will share what she's learned about chimps' behavior in ISU's "Science Café" on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Northeast Mezzanine at Legends American Grill at 200 Stanton Ave. in Ames. Her presentation "Chimps: They're More Human Than You Think," is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

"I plan to share an overview of what I've observed in the chimpanzees from my Fongoli site, including pictures and some video clips," Pruetz said. "It should highlight some of the near human behavior we've reported seeing the chimps exhibit."

Pruetz made global news two years ago with her study reporting that chimpanzees from her site are using spear-shaped tools to hunt smaller primates. The discovery was ranked second among Wired News' "Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007."

A month after her tool-use study was published, she reported that those same chimpanzees are also seeking shelter in caves to get out of the extreme African heat -- also becoming the first to document regular chimpanzee cave use.

Honored as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer for 2008, Pruetz and the chimps from her Fongoli research site in Western Africa were also featured last year in the Public Broadcasting System "Nova" documentary "Ape Genius."

Pruetz is now studying how chimpanzees at her site routinely transfer food to mates or other unrelated social group members -- something previously considered uncommon among chimpanzees and a defining characteristic of humans. Male chimpanzees at her site shared plant foods and tools with an unrelated adult female -- perhaps as a form of mating strategy -- and also rarely monopolized carcasses when other chimps sought meat. While females shared with males, they also effectively ignored males' begging behavior.

"It's (the food-sharing behavior) been distinctly human, but found in Bonobos too," Pruetz said. "But the thing about Bonobos is they have this great reliance on sex as a social glue and ways of easing tension. So Bonobos and humans are similar in terms of their affiliation. But then if you look at chimps and humans, they're more similar in terms of their aggression, and that's not the case at my site. These chimps are different. They look more like Bonobos and humans in terms of their behavior."

She is also studying how the chimps living in her savanna environment react to seasonally occurring bush fires. Pruetz says reports of the wild great apes' reactions to fire may provide anthropologists insight on the likely response to fire by human ancestors.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/n...n/scicafe.shtml

They also have better memory capability than humans.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3948256

[karl 12]

I think not only monkeys has the capability to observe morality but also some other animals like pets especially dogs.

Indeed they do:

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum...=141877&hl=

[bigdaddyinge]

A new study has shown that apes and monkeys possess a rudimentary sense of right or wrong, can judge fairness and are even able to empathise with other animals.

"Monkeys and apes have a sense of morality and the rudimentary ability to tell right from wrong, according to new research. In a series of studies scientists have found that monkeys and apes can make judgments about fairness, offer altruistic help and empathise when a fellow animal is ill or in difficulties. They even appear to have consciences and the ability to remember obligations. "

View: Full Article | Source: Times Online

i wonder what moral questions that chimp had yesterday when he bit that ladies face almost off?

[Wickian]

i wonder what moral questions that chimp had yesterday when he bit that ladies face almost off?

There are 3 species you should be careful of. Humans, Monkeys/Apes and Dolphins.

[Corpseus]

i wonder what moral questions that chimp had yesterday when he bit that ladies face almost off?

If this is just a casual reference to a recent happening, or even an honest question ignore my next point. If this is an attemp to udermine this article, or ape's morality, please consider applying this logic to any human serial killer. One bag egg, in this case, does not spoil the bunch.

[BaneSilvermoon]

If this is just a casual reference to a recent happening, or even an honest question ignore my next point. If this is an attemp to udermine this article, or ape's morality, please consider applying this logic to any human serial killer. One bag egg, in this case, does not spoil the bunch.

Hate those bag eggs

:-p

[PaperMoon]

i wonder what moral questions that chimp had yesterday when he bit that ladies face almost off?

Yeah it's interesting that this case happened right after this article came out! No matter how cute and docile monkey are they are still wild animals and are liable to snap at any moment for no reason at all. That's why they are wild animals. That goes for any wild animal that people try to domesticate. There's a reason why dogs & cats are man's best friend and not monkeys.

If this is just a casual reference to a recent happening, or even an honest question ignore my next point. If this is an attemp to udermine this article, or ape's morality, please consider applying this logic to any human serial killer. One bag egg, in this case, does not spoil the bunch.

This shows that wild animals are still wild animals no matter how much people think they can domesticate them.

[:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR:]

There are 3 species you should be careful of. Humans, Monkeys/Apes and Dolphins.

I'd add Elephants too.

[Blizno]

It is blindingly obvious but it appears that I have to say this yet again:

Chimpanzees ARE NOT monkeys!!!! Chimpanzees are APES!

All apes, including human beings, are vastly more developed than any monkey. Apes and monkeys branched apart tens of millions of years ago. Chimpanzees and humans branched apart about six million years ago.

Chimpanzees are much more closely related to humans than they are to monkeys.

Stop this nonsense of referring to apes as "monkeys".

Apes ARE NOT monkeys!

[evil_kenshin]

considering that chimpanzee's are known to regularly wage war similar to humans i'd be questioning if they are as moral as the article claims

eg

(a david attenborough documentary where a chimpanzee militia raids & attacks a rival group killing an infant and eating it)

Edited February 18, 2012 by evil_kenshin

[jules99]

considering that chimpanzee's are known to regularly wage war similar to humans i'd be questioning if they are as moral as the article claims

(a david attenborough documentary where a chimpanzee militia raids & attacks a rival group killing an infant and eating it)

Yeah;

But by comparison you would also be questioning human morality as well. I suppose morality could be just about cheques and balances. in hard times each member of a community makes a contribution to the whole. If any member is lost then the work of the rest increases and life is made harder, so it makes sense to help each other..

I saw a doco once about a mother killer whale teaching her baby how to hit a penguin with their tail..Sort of like playing penguin ping pong..when the lesson was over the mother killer whale nudged the exhausted penguin safely back to shore with her nose..That got me thinking about morality..

[Babe Ruth]

Very easy for me to believe, that monkeys have a sense of morality.

[+and-then]

I bet they have their share of thugs as well...witness the one among us with a pistol