[MD] Dynamic within static.

[Krimel]

> [Platt]
> Animals have memory but not the capacity to pass it on from one generation
> to the next. What they do have is instinct -- a static pattern of behavior
> without choice, preventing them from responding to DQ. Plants, ants and
> antelopes are stuck.
>
> [Krimel]
> One might as easily say that genetic memory, passed from parent to
> offspring, uniquely prepares each generation with the capacity to respond
> to DQ.
>
mel:
Animals DO have the capacity to pass on
experience from one generation to the next.
It is decidedly more limited than man's capacity,
but present nonetheless.

Look at the hunt-by-example display a mother
bear/lion/wolf shows her young.  It is not by
words, but by actions.

If it were purely hard-wired-instinct there would
be no need to teach the young.  The niche of
some animals requires no additional teaching,
but mammals, especially predators and their
herd prey, often need to learn skills not in their
bodies at birth.

thanks--mel

[Krimel]
Teasing out which parts of behavior result from nature and which from
nurture is an ongoing issue in psychology and certainly in biology. Reptiles
and insects seem to require little in the way of nurture. The higher up the
food chain we go the more nurturing is required and yet the hand of nature
is always present. Even in humans language, while learned, evidences a
strong biological component. We are biologically predisposed to learn
certain things at certain times. But yes, animals can even be shown to pass
along learned novel behaviors. The example of chimpanzee's termite fishing
comes to mind. Not all chimpanzee troops evidence this behavior but it is
wide spread in troops that have discovered the skill.