all mammals man is the most widely distributed species. The dog is a close 

 second, but only because man has taken him along. 



Sociality How did human beings first come to use tools, fire and 

 speech? These obvious advantages for human living are related to a char- 

 acteristic of the species that does not show if we study merely the structure 

 of the organism. This is the important fact that man always exists normally 

 in groups. Man is a social animal. 



There are of course other social animals. The bees and the ants at once 

 come to mind. Wolves hunt in packs. The wild bison and other animals 

 of the cow family roam in herds. Even very low types of animals form 

 colonies with a considerable division of labor among the members (see illus- 

 tration, p. 419). Social life among human beings, however, involves more 

 than division of labor and the fitting of each individual to some special tasks. 

 It involves the feelings which each individual has about others — ^his liking 

 or disliking them, his admiration or contempt. It involves further what he 

 feels about himself in relation to others — his fears, or pride, for example, or 

 his envy. For man needs not merely supplies of food, or material comforts; 

 he needs also a chance to deal with others in many different ways. Man 

 depends upon others^ and others make demands upon him. The fact that 

 man prefers society to solitude has far-reaching consequences. 



Animals living by themselves would have no use for "communicating". 

 At any rate, the ability to use tools and fire and to speak, and social living 

 are all closely related to man's superior brain. 



How Is Man More than an Animal? 



Preserving Experience Human beings can learn from experience, as 

 can other backboned animals, and many lower classes too. They can learn 

 certain things more quickly than other species. And they continue to learn 

 through a longer stretch of years. Quite outstanding, however, is man's 

 ability to learn from the experiences of others. 



Experiments with many different species show that the apes and 

 monkeys alone imitate what others are doing, although some birds imitate 

 sounds. They seem to be the only ones, therefore, that could possibly learn 

 from the experience of their fellows. Man, however, learns not only by 

 imitating others, but also through direct instruction — the use of speech, 



If a wasp should discover a new trick for catching caterpillars, and used 

 it successfully in gathering food for her offspring, her acquired wisdom 

 would die with her. For the eggs which she lays do not hatch out until 

 after she is dead. Among human beings, however, the results of experience 

 are carried on from generation to generation, through tradition and cere- 

 monial. Savages preserve the art of making fire by teaching their young 



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