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Re: Animal culture?
J Cook (0002019573@MCIMAIL.COM)
Wed, 7 Aug 1996 07:38:00 EST
-- [ From: Jesse S. Cook III * EMC.Ver #2.3 ] --
-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------
Date: Tuesday, 06-Aug-96 08:34 PM
From: Danny Yee \ Internet: (danny@staff.cs.usyd.edu.au)
From: Danny Yee \ Internet: (danny@staff.cs.usyd.edu.au)
To: Jesse S. Cook III \ MCI Mail: (JCOOK / MCI ID: 201-9573)
Subject: Re: Animal culture?
> Excuse me, Danny, but I think, on the contrary, that it is needful, and how
> could it possibly be dangerous? Furthermore, until we "find a completely new
> species somewhere in the universe", my definition will do nicely, I think.
> BTW, what's wrong with creating new terms to cover new concepts? We do it
all
> the time.
You miss the point of the thought experiment. The point is that if we did
discover such a species, we would NOT use culture to refer to things humans
invent, a new term <X> to refer to things the Klingons invent, and a new term
<Y> to refer to things that are generalised from <X> and "culture". We would
use the term culture to refer to things such as shared traditions, social
structures, rituals, memetic inheritance, etc. which may be possessed by both
species, and we would use "human culture" and "Klingon culture" where necessary
to distinguish them. This suggests to me that your definition is wrongheaded.
I also think your definition gives *far* too much importance to biology. I
believe that there are important aspects of culture (as the term is used) which
are genuinely "substrate neutral" -- not dependent on _particular_ biological
underpinnings. Building explicit reference to a biological species into the
definition will obscure this.
Danny.
-------- REPLY, End of original message --------
Danny, I'm afraid your "philosophical thought experiments" are way beyond me.
And I don't see how my "definition gives *far* too much importance to biology"
or how "building explicit reference to a biological species into the definition
will obscure this." What does "this" refer to? And don't tell me the
preceding sentence, because it is just plain gobbledegook to me.
Jess
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