CRASSH

This paper provides a brief reflection on the place of  detachment and engagement in primatological method, by a working primatologist. One of the  reasons that we study non human primates is because they are our closest relatives. In  particular, studying their social interactions informs us of the biological basis of our own  relationships. A major contribution of primatology to behavioural sciences is a concentration  on individuals.

 

However, the formal presentations rarely include individual animals,  and hide the personal relationships we all have with our study animals. Yet these  relationships themselves involve a mix of engagement and detachment. I will discuss primatologists'  motivations in studying primates, the methods we use, and our relationships with our study  animals, and reflect on what this might contribute to the study of detachment in inter species  relations.