{"id":381,"date":"2021-11-29T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=102342"},"modified":"2021-11-29T19:19:10","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T18:19:10","slug":"aesops-fables-the-science-behind-what-the-stories-got-wrong","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/aesops-fables-the-science-behind-what-the-stories-got-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Aesop\u2019s fables: The science behind what the stories got wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dr Jo Wimpenny\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 29 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing. The tortoise and the hare. These are among the most recognisable of Aesop\u2019s fables, a collection said to have been conceived by a slave some 2,500 years ago to communicate moral messages to the ancient Greeks. Remarkably, Aesop\u2019s fables are still enjoyed around the world and we even refer to their morals in our day-to-day language: think \u2018slow and steady wins the race\u2019, \u2018sour grapes\u2019 or \u2018honesty is the best policy\u2019.<\/p>\n

They also sow the seeds for our developing beliefs of how animals behave: we grow up with stories of the sly fox, crafty crow or foolish donkey \u2013 but what\u2019s the truth of these notions? The last century has seen an explosion of scientific research into what animals do and why, meaning that we are now equipped to explore what science has to say about Aesop\u2019s fables.<\/p>\n

My new book, Aesop\u2019s Animals<\/em>, does just that and while there is clearly still much to discover about animal minds, it seems likely that if Aesop were alive today, he might want to do a bit of re-writing.<\/p>\n

The Wolf in Sheep\u2019s Clothing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Given how ingrained the deceptive wolf stereotype is in modern culture, it may be surprising to learn that it has no factual basis. Wolves live in strongly bonded family groups (\u2018packs\u2019) and exhibit cooperation, playfulness and loyalty to their kin. They work together to hunt and are far from being ruthless killing machines \u2013 although they usually pursue the most vulnerable individuals in a herd of elk or moose, the pack frequently fails to make a kill.<\/p>\n

Wolves are the closest living relatives of domestic dogs, and experimental studies have revealed some remarkable similarities and differences in their problem-solving abilities: both can cooperate effectively with humans to solve tasks, but wolves also cooperate far better with other wolves than dogs do with dogs.<\/p>\n

When faced with a tricky problem, wolves get by through sheer persistence, whereas dogs often look to their humans for help. Deception makes little sense for these extreme co-operators, meaning that Aesop (and numerous other storytellers since) was wrong.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are better candidates for animals that can be cast in the role of the deceiver.<\/p>\n

The Monkey and the Fisherman <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Aesop\u2019s fable painted the monkey as \u2018the most imitative of all animals\u2019, and it\u2019s a characterisation that has stuck, preserved in sayings such as \u2018monkey see, monkey do\u2019. Originally, imitation (i.e. faithfully copying the actions of others) was thought to reveal a lack of intelligence, so monkeys were painted as foolish, mindless mimics that couldn\u2019t think for themselves.<\/p>\n

Over the last century or so, the scientific consensus on this has changed and imitation has become something of a \u2018holy grail\u2019 in animal social learning, likely due to its associations with culture and the fact that it underpins our own, phenomenal cultural evolution.<\/p>\n

What was taken as fact has now become fiction \u2013 decades worth of research has found that while many monkey species are influenced by what other members of their troop are doing, they don\u2019t imitate them. Instead, a monkey may simply pay attention to whatever another monkey is interacting with, subsequently exploring and learning about that object.<\/p>\n

This is categorically different to imitating, leading to the consensus that monkeys don\u2019t learn from<\/em> other monkeys, but with<\/em> them.<\/p>\n

Read more about animal behaviour:<\/strong><\/p>\n