- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Yale University Press; illustrated edition edition (1 Aug 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0300099835
- ISBN-13: 978-0300099836
- Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.6 x 0.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,030,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Intelligence of Apes and Other Rational Beings
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"In this remarkable book, Duane Rumbaugh and David Washburn illuminate the questions of primate intelligence with style, with savvy, and with compassion. This is an intensely provocative and readable journey through an important subject." Deborah Blum, author of Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection
Product Description
What is animal intelligence? In what ways is it similar to human intelligence? Many behavioural scientists have realized that animals can be rational, can think in abstract symbols, can understand and react to human speech, and can learn through observation as well as conditioning many of the more complicated skills of life. Duane Rumbaugh and David Washburn have identified an advanced level of animal behaviour that reflects animals' natural and active inclination to make sense of the world. Rumbaugh and Washburn unify all behaviour into a framework they call Rational Behaviourism and present it as a new way to understand learning, intelligence and rational behaviour in both animals and humans. Drawing on years of research on issues of complex learning and intelligence in primates (notably rhesus monkeys, chimpanzees and bonobos), Rumbaugh and Washburn provide delightful examples of animal ingenuity and persistence, showing that animals are capable of very creative solutions to novel challenges. The authors analyse learning processes and research methods, discuss the meaningful differences across the primate order and point the way to further advances, enlivening theoretical material about primates with stories about their behaviour and achievements.
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2 reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
What Apes Can Teach Us
31 July 2003
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In 'The Intelligence of Apes and Other Rational Beings', Duane Rumbaugh and David Washburn have provided a unique insight into the lives of apes and other nonhuman primates. Rumbaugh has been a major contributor in the investigation of language skills in nonhuman animals, but the present book takes an even more expanded view of animal intelligence. Rumbaugh and Washburn are promoting a new way of looking at the mental lives of animals, and whether you agree or disagree with this new perspective, the book is a "must-read."
In addition to presenting scientific evidence to support the position of the authors that a new perspective of animal intelligence is needed, the book is also an enjoyable recollection of the first author of his career and the influence of his scientific studies on this perspective of animal intelligence. The reader will learn about the ability of great apes (and in some cases other nonhuman primates) to learn language, arithmetic, and other complex cognitive skills.
Readers familiar with the psychology of learning will be particularly interested in the promotion of a new class of behaviors called Emergents. No longer satisfied that the behavior of animals can be separated into the classes of Respondents and Operants, Rumbaugh and Washburn add this third class of behaviors to describe instances in which novel, appropriate behaviors with no clear reinforcement history 'emerge'. This aspect of the book will be controversial, but in a stimulating and intellectually productive manner indicative of good scholarship. Not everyone will agree with the authors' new perspective, but the reader will appreciate the evidence in support of that perspective.
The contributions of Duane Rumbaugh to the understanding of primate behavior have been substantial, and this book is an excellent summary of what has been learned through Rumbaugh's research. It is well written and would be enjoyable for people of all ages who have an interest in learning about animal intelligence, ape behavior, and more general learning processes.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Too analytical for me
22 Feb 2007
Format:Hardcover
I expected more anecdotal evidence and less scientific methodology for a general audience.
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