Abstract:
Studies on non-human primates behavior, particularly those dedicated to chimpanzees conducted from the 1960s, have exposed discoveries about their cognitive skills and their individual and collective complex behavior what suggests reflections about both the place and the role of social life in their development, as the extent and the depth of the unique characteristics of each chimpanzee. Both dimensions are indeed deeply associated with the prospects of social and human sciences. The discussion suggested aims to point out the results obtained in research on wild chimpanzees and laboratory-related topics such as emotions and feelings, consciousness, theory of mind, the notion of person and symbolic capacity in order to contribute to discussions on the feasibility, or not, to consider the existence of an “animal subjectivity.”
Keywords:
field work; laboratory; human animal relations; subjectivity