Apes, Questions, and Metacognition
Apes, Questions, and Metacognition
Forewarning: This week’s essay is all over the place, in the philosophical and emotional soup. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
An acquaintance in my writing group said something last weekend that I can’t stop thinking about: apes don’t ask questions. And reader, I was down the rabbit-hole. Surely, I thought, they must ask questions. How could they not?
It turns out that while apes can learn sign language—a thousand signs or so—and can understand an additional thousand words, they do not use the interrogative. They never ask where, or what, or how, or when, or who, or why. Koko, the famous signing gorilla who loved and cared for a kitten she named All Ball, could identify emotions, both hers and those of others. Michael, the silverback who lived with her, could describe his memory of his mother being killed when he was taken into captivity. But they did not ask their handlers where they had been, where they were going, or when they would be back.
The case of Lana, the chimpanzee trained in the 1970s to use an electronic keyboard where each key indicated a word, seems more complicated. In the language she was taught, a question mark preceded any question her handlers asked her. Lana, in turn, used the question mark symbol to signal that she wanted a response. But what she placed after the question mark was phrased as a statement or a demand. For instance, in communicating with her handler Tim, Lana typed “? Tim give Lana name-of this” when confronted with a new object. But Lana was not asking “what is this?” or “what is this for?” At least not directly. We might argue that the question is implied, but that depends just as much on the subjectivity of the audience as of the monkey. The distinction between a question and an observation gets blurry.
Are humans the only apes that ask questions? (Look, we share 98-99% of our DNA with apes, so we’re definitely related.)
And that got me thinking about why we ask questions. To learn, yes, but apes learn—all animals learn. Animals are curious. They want to know what’s what. And it occurs to me that questioning, specifically, is part and parcel of metacognition: thinking about our thinking. What would be the point of metacognition if it didn’t imply a question? How do I know what I know? Why do I (or others) believe this or that?
Or the question I find myself asking a lot these days: what the fuck is wrong with people?
My provisional answer is that (some—ug, many) people aren’t engaging in metacognition. They do not ask themselves how they know what they know or whether they even know it. There is no self-doubt, only certainty. I want what I want and what I want is always right and good. Without metacognition, facts still exist whether we acknowledge them or not (yes, climate change is real; yes, trans people exist; yes, histories of oppression have shaped social structures in profound and lasting ways), but we’re operating in the fuck around and find out (FAFO for those who are Gen X) mode. Usually, the “find out” part is pretty brutal. And the rest of us who’ve been asking questions of ourselves as standard practice can see the consequences a mile off.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep us from experiencing them.
References:
Boyce Resenberger, “ ‘Talking’ Chimpanzee Asks for Names Now,” New York Times, 4 Dec. 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/04/archives/-talking-chimpanzee-asks-for-names-of-things-now-electric-keyboard-.html
Madison Dapcevich, “Apes Have Never Asked Questions Despite Scientists Communicating with Them Since ‘60s?,” Snopes, 2 Sep. 2024. https://www.snopes.com/articles/467842/apes-questions-communicate/
“Koko Amazing Talking Gorilla,” Thinky TV, YouTube, 2018.
Malorie Thompson, “Did You Know That Apes Have Never Asked a Question?,” Greater Good, 4 Jun 2024. https://greatergood.com/blogs/news/apes-dont-ask-questions
Kate Wong, “Tiny Genetic Differences between Human and Other Primates Pervade the Genome,” Scientific American, Sep 2014. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-genetic-differences-between-humans-and-other-primates-pervade-the-genome/
My belief is that maggots don't engage in metacognition out of fear - who will they be if their convictions are wrong? It's a sad and dangerous insecurity. Personally, I think they should all drop some acid and find clarity. ; )
I am always pondering, always asking questions, but most of all I am amazed that my most frequent question is"How come it took me 87 years to learn that?