# Traits From the Apes **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475 "2006-04-20T15:19:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475/41 "2006-04-21T13:00:20Z")
> [@Epimetheus](#): > > After I posted I wondered if my teachers views on the subject were somehow motivated by some sort of quasi-political view of some sort. > > The language aquisition idea definately looks to be instinctive in all areas, but they would argue that since it disapears later in life for the majority of humans, that it isn’t true instinct. Now that I really think about it, some of the justifications for why something wasn’t a true instinct was a bit convoluted. That does seem a bit convoluted. Even if we accept it, however, I’d say that some of the behaviors on [this list](http://condor.depaul.edu/~mfiddler/hyphen/humunivers.htm) probably qualify by their convoluted definitions, e.g., > [@](#): > > males dominate public/political realm > males, on average, travel greater distances over lifetime > childhood fear of strangers > nonbodily decorative art > copulation normally conducted in privacy > preference for own children and close kin (nepotism) > fairness (equity), concept of > incest between mother and son unthinkable or tabooed > snakes, wariness around > special speech for special occasions > sweets preferred > play to perfect skills Note that not all of these are true for each individual human, but that’s because we are complex creatures, with modulating systems allowing us to overcome instincts. Too, some of these may be due to conditions that have been common throughout history but are no longer commone (how many of us have faced serious danger from a snake?) and so they could be rational responses to the environment, not instinctive behaviors, that are slowly disappearing. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475/42 "2006-04-21T23:28:04Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Doesn’t the misunderstanding go in both directions, however? It seems to me that there are a lot of people, even on these boards, who think that humans have no instinctive behaviors at all, and even more people who think that human instincts can be counted on the fingers of one hand. > > Daniel You gots more thans 6? Youse can remove your shoeses. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475/43 "2006-04-23T22:48:19Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > You gots more thans 6? Youse can remove your shoeses. Serious question? Yeah, I think I have more than six instincts. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475/44 "2006-04-24T14:38:33Z")
What **tomndebb** said. Given the closeness of our genetic relationship with chimpanzees, there are no other nonhuman animals that can be used to explain human behavior so effectively. Desmond Morris is not saying that we are chimps, or that human beings don’t have their own unique qualities and behaviors, as all species do. He and his ilk are merely pointing out similarities of behavior as evidence of a common origin. We also have a common origin with dogs, fish, and paramecia, if you want to go back far enough, and you could probably find some behavioral commonalities between them and us. But our closer relatives in the animal world have the most. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475/45 "2006-04-24T15:18:30Z")
**Zoe** writes: > [@](#): > > Quote: > Cal: But I agree that he [Morris] often speculates way over the edge. > > Deep down I’ve always know that I really don’t wear lipstick just to make my mouth look like a chimp’s ass. Well, I agree with you, but I think Desmond Morris would, as well. AFAICan Recall, he claims that human lips echo vaginal lips, not butts. And I think there’s something to this one, too, since human lips are quite unlike other simian lips, and I don’t see any other compelling reason why they’re not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traits-from-the-apes/353475.md?page=2)