Humans Stand Out: Disagreeing with Dr. Robert Boyd's Idealization of Culture

Introduction

All primates diverged from a common ancestor almost six million years ago. Through evolution, Hhowever, it is beyond doubt that human beings stand out among millions from all of species that have evolved from primates. The human being sits at the top of the food chain, occupied the entire earth and ignited a revolution of social and technological advancements. Following the reasoning and terminology of Dr. Robert Boyd, I disagree with Dr. Robert Boyd's his idealization of culture as the basis for human superiority. Culture may be more than part of our day to day routine but it is not what makes humans so different from the other animals. This paper outlines my reasons for disagreeing with Dr. Robert Boyd's argument.

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In my view, the ability to think at a more complex level and integrate loads of information is what has pushed the human being to the top of the food chain. Consequently, Culture is a product of human's higher intelligence quotient. Human beings are smart enough to make sense out of every day experiences and weed out what is bad, leaving an organized pattern of thought and action that eventually culminates to a culture system. There is a reason to why human beings have culture and chimpanzees don't. The chimpanzee and any other animal do not have the mental capacity to derive and construct knowledge from their environment, construct ideas, and implement the ideas to form a way of life. Their thinking capacity is limited to the basic instincts of life and survival.

People are not influenced by culture, they create it. Human beings are able to adopt complex thinking patterns that easily lead to problem solving and decision making, unlike any other animal. The complex thinking capabilities makes it possible for humans to process loads of information, identify solutions for different problems and develop new methods of performing day to day activities unlike other animals. The human mind is able to make deductions from daily experiences and slowly learn to select what is good and what is bad, eventually leading to the development of cultural norms.

Conclusion

In conclusion, believe that cultural values and beliefs form the basis on which humans construct knowledge, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Culture is simply a product of the higher human thinking ability, that allows us to think logically, organize bits of information and develop a consistent norm of life which we believe helps us achieve order.

References

Dreifus, C. (2005, May 10). A Conversation with: Robert Boyd.