A Constellation of Qualities
A Constellation of Qualities
This chapter focuses on two species that represent peaks of brain development in their lineages: chimpanzees and ravens. It argues that a large central nervous system is the source of a wide repertoire of behavior for both. Here, the brain is unusually flexible and innovative, enables complex social relationships and rich communication, and appears capable of a degree of abstraction. The association of these qualities in widely differing lineages and different environments suggests they are somehow connected with each other in the evolutionary process. The gathering information content of life has expressed itself in similar ways in different lineages where the main common anatomical characteristic is high relative brain size. This chapter also examines the complex social relationships of ravens and chimpanzees, along with their capability for deception, tool use, communication, cultural differences, self-recognition in front of a mirror, brain size, and behavioral versatility.
Keywords: brain development, chimpanzees, ravens, central nervous system, social relationships, communication, brain size, behavioral versatility
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