The group dynamics of bonobos, a species of apes that is genetically one of our closest relatives, is predominantly cooperative and peaceful. The reason for this behavior can be explained by the abundance of resources and the relative smallness of the bonobo groups. These preconditions lead to the forming of strong social bonds and a sense of fairness between the apes. In this essay, a point is made that the same outer conditions can be found in the society of modern science, without leading to the same group dynamics. I motivate a more "bonobo-like" culture of science, where fairness and cooperation are key.
Bonobo Science
I like this essay very much, for the following reasons.
Some years ago I saw a video where two bonobo children where lost in the jungle. Their mother was massacred by some hunters and the both must have witnessed it all. A group of researchers then found the bonobo children and led them out of the jungle into save territory. The two bonobos trustfully but also fearfully followed the researchers, walking hand in hand behind the researchers, thus the both apes held their hands together during walking, like human twosomes do. This picture said so much to me, without words.
What you wrote is very sensible and enlightening for me. In my opinion the scientific community cannot anymore reiterate that human beings are “merely” apes and on the other side believe that we are that “smart” that we are self-evidently able to crack the cosmic code about what holds the world together at its core and answer all these fundamental questions. We are not God, period! The latter belief in my opinion arose from what you described as an abundant environment that is existentially safe for scientists to juggle with all kinds of incoherent ideas to please themselves. But in my opinion, the requirements for having been able to do that will change and already begin to change, as more and more distribution conflicts arise in the world.
The scientific community in my opinion has some characteristics of what is called a “bubble existence”. The latters most mandatory belief is that – since science has indeed so much achieved in the past centuries – this automatically (deterministically?) must also continue in the future. Or in other words, humanity, for whatever reasons, will not destroy itself in the future and can solve all problems, if worked hard and long enough on them. You identified the issue on what precisely should be worked on hard enough – namely developing a bonobo-science.
To work hard on that, it pressuposes that each member of the scientific group works hard on its own social and psychological issues. The success or failure of that project will determine whether or not we really are that much smarter than chimpanzees or gorillas: we have a theory of natural selection (survival) that says that we are ancestors of the apes, but now are much smarter then them. I think now the time has come to prove whether or not this is an ego-driven exaggeration when it comes to the factual effectiveness of the term “smarter”.
Stefan Weckbach
Thank you for your nice comment :-)
I agree with you, that the environment of science (and actually, our whole environment, period) might change drastically in the future. Let's hope that we humans turn out to be not only smart in the mathematical-logical sense, but also emotionally.
Bonobo Science essay has good karma! I think this is my favorite essay so far, very readable.
Dear Teresa E Reinhard, I liked your idea of using the bonobo culture to discuss fairness and cooperation in science. I also point in this direction in my essay “More diversity and creativity for a different science”, which I invite you to take a look if you feel like.