Re: returning and belated

Bill Barowy (Bill_Barowy who-is-at TERC.EDU)
15 Aug 1997 13:27:07 U

Reply to: RE>>returning and belated

Eva,

Quick note on
" For those of you who haven't been there recently, Tomasello
et al. basically argue that chimps (et al.) learn by _emulating_ the
behavior of others, i.e. they observe some new means used towards a
desirable end, and then pick up similar means working their own way towards
accomplishing the task. _Imitation_ in Tomasello's version consists in
observing and copying the _methods_ of the more skilled individual as well
as the means"

I am missing something - how can the chimps come to know the ends of the
others? To illustrate with humans, in classrooms kids will "get on the
clue-bus' (Christine Theberge, 1994) with various moves to infer the
teacher's goal. Emulation seems distinguished in the imitator knowing the
goal of the imitatee. How is this possible?

Bill