How to Become a Chimp Leader

• Welcome to the BOL Forum on Evolutionary Psychology by John Grohol, 3/19/97
  • About Evolutionary Psychology by Behavior OnLine Editor, 12/28/96
    • Remarks Made Once to Howard Bloom by James Brody, 5/4/98
      
      

Jane Goodall was once (!) asked what makes a chimp leader. Her answer was something like: "The leader is the one who is willing to wander from the group". Others can become curious and follow.

Most chimps do not have the inner security to become leaders in this sense. It is much safer to stay within the confines of current tradition. Its much safer to do "what is expected", as a member of the group.

Chimp leaders can form new groups. These groups too become crowds. These new crowds develop their own traditions. Life goes on, but in a rather stagnant way. With luck, new wanderers come into the picture. Dynamics are restored.

Science has its few wanderers, and wandering ideas. Evolutionary psychology is being filled with wanderers and wanderings. Others tag along. Traditions get formed and protected. Stories become reified. New wanderers get fed up, and do new things.

Without the wanderers no new traditions, or even truly new ideas, emerge. Yet psychology today is ripe for new views. For too many years evolutionary psychology was excluded from the culture. Now it is coming in, and with many wandering in many different directions. I hope the trend continues.

Sure, some - maybe most - of the wanderings are dead ends. But who cares.

I wonder what would happen if a chimp group could encourage wanderings, without too many followers for a while. These wandering souls could then get together from time to time and compare notes. If lucky, they could do this without ranker. Maybe even without ranking.

Its unlikely. Human mobs will want to join with the most glorious leaders. In that way those in the mobs no longer have to question or think. Then the new tradition can grow stale.

I am happy to see wanderings on this site. Sure, many of the ideas are novel, unformed, or malformed. But who cares. We need to have wanderers.

John

• Leadership by Fred Edinberg, 11/25/98
  • Two Foundations of Leadership by James Brody, 11/27/98