How Monkeys See the World: Inside the Mind of Another Species

by Dorothy L. Cheney, Robert M. Seyfarth

Cheney and Seyfarth enter the minds of vervet monkeys and other primates to explore the nature of primate intelligence and the evolution of cognition.

"This reviewer had to be restrained from stopping people in the street to urge them to read it: They would learn something of the way science is done, something about how monkeys see their world, and something about themselves, the mental models they inhabit."—Roger Lewin, Washington Post Book World

"A fascinating intellectual odyssey and a superb summary of where science stands."—Geoffrey Cowley, Newsweek

"A once-in-the-history-of-science enterprise."—Duane M. Rumbaugh, Quarterly Review of Biology

Genres: Science, Biology, Nonfiction, Psychology, Animals, Research

388 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Riversue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the original in-depth studies of non human primate intelligence. Very lucid, this is an important work in the study of vervets.

[India Braver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vevet monkeys!! Learn all about them! The first couple chapters are pretty dense & technical, but nothing new if you've taken a Primate class that focuses on all the specifics of research methods & how monkey communities are organized and why this matters. They developed the playback system of research and really explored it, and I guess this was the first time this was done, so that's cool even though a lot of the stuff seems so common place now. BUT, the real thesis of this book is how do monkeys see themselves vs. how we, as humans, see monkeys, vs, how we, as humans, think monkeys see themselves- it's all about trying to define a framework of consciousness for monkeys and so that's interesting!!

Also, if you're wondering why I'm reading so many books about monkeys this year, it's for my Primate Behavior class. I think a good reading of these books should be accompanied by an academic discussion cuz these works only really get interesting and cool if you have a good understanding of the motives of Primatologists.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book plumbs the application of deep philosophical questions concerning how we make and perceive meaning by studying the alarm cries of vervet monkeys. These monkeys have an alarm cry for snakes leopards and eagles. It is a bit dull on reading but becomes more interesting on reflection.

[Dev Scott Flores]

Not written for the layperson, it was still a highly accessible and enlightening read