man reasoning without language is like a chimpanzee copulating without imitation

An example of an analogy for a scientific notion,

"…the fact that subhuman animals learn to reason with sometimes startling effectiveness, without learning to speak, does not prove that men can do so, any more than the fact that a rat can copulate without the mediation of imitative learning or practice proves that a chimpanzee can do so"

Clifford Geertz (2000) The growth of culture and the evolution of mind (first published 1962), in The Interpretation of Cultures. Selected Essays. 2nd Edition. New York. Basic Books

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Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.