--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think in biology it's very…" description: "\"I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all. Whether certain behavior is culture or is not culture is argued. I think virtually all biologi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/hal-whitehead-26990_agree_i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-contr_2102327.jpg" --- # I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all… ![“I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all. Whether certain behavior is culture or is not culture is argued. I think virtually all biologists would agree that some animal behavior is culture. Bird song is a good example.” quote by Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/hal-whitehead-26990_agree_i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-contr_2102327.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/hal-whitehead-26990_agree_i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-contr_2102327.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/hal-whitehead-26990_agree_i-don-t-think-in-biology-it-s-very-contr_2102327.jpg) > “I don't think in biology it's very controversial at all. Whether certain behavior is culture or is not culture is argued. I think virtually all biologists would agree that some animal behavior is culture. Bird song is a good example.” [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biologists recognize that some animal behaviors are learned socially, forming animal cultures such as bird songs. **In simple terms:** Animals can have cultures like humans. Key Takeaway Study social learning in wildlife. Themes behavior culture biology learning Mood curious analytical Type scientific informative When to use this quote - wildlife research - conservation - education - policy making Key Concepts social transmission cultural evolution Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish cultural from genetic behavior? - What implications does animal culture have for conservation? A Different Perspective Cultural definitions vary across species and contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agree/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-behavior/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Behavior Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior-culture-3393794/) [Biologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biologist/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Biology Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology-controversial-4205713/) [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bird song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird-song/) [Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture Argued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-argued-4205714/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [One thing bothered me as a student. In the 1960s, human behavior was totally off limits for the biologist. There was animal behavior, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/one-thing-bothered-me-as-a-student-in-the-1960s-human-behavior-was/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“There is not a moral to every story in animal behavior. Sometimes a snake is just a snake, and sometimes snake sex is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-zuk/there-is-not-a-moral-to-every-story-in-animal-behavior-sometimes-a/) [Marlene Zuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-zuk/) > [In civilized communities men's idiosyncrasies are mitigated by the necessity of conforming to certain rules of behavior. Culture is a mask that hides their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-civilized-communities-men-s-idiosyncrasies-are-mitigated-by-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [To me, I learned along the way, you know, culture is behavior. That's all it is; culture is people's behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginni-rometty/to-me-i-learned-along-the-way-you-know-culture-is-behavior-that-s-all/) [Ginni Rometty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginni-rometty/) > [“DNA also reveals behavior. Culture can become embedded in our cells just as it gets buried in the floors of caves, bogs, and dwellings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-rutherford/dna-also-reveals-behavior-culture-can-become-embedded-in-our-cells/) [Adam Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-rutherford/) > [The rewards system is a powerful driver of behavior and therefore culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/the-rewards-system-is-a-powerful-driver-of-behavior-and-therefore/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [What I mean by it, and roughly what most biologists who talk about culture mean by it, is either behavior itself, or information that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/what-i-mean-by-it-and-roughly-what-most-biologists-who-talk-about/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Psychologists would say that the only two important forms of social learning are imitation and teaching, and they will spend time trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/psychologists-would-say-that-the-only-two-important-forms-of-social/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/over-increasingly-large-areas-of-the-united-states-spring-now-comes/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Life was not intended to be simply a round of work, no matter how interesting and important that work may be. A moment’s pause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/life-was-not-intended-to-be-simply-a-round-of-work-no-matter-how/) [Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/) > [“Are spirits so involved in men's lives? Marley asked. Mankind is inolved in men's lives. We only help them know how. ...Jacob, all around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-william-bennett/are-spirits-so-involved-in-men-s-lives-marley-asked-mankind-is/) [R. William Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-william-bennett/) > [A gush of bird song, a patter of dew A cloud and a rainbow's warning; Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue An April day in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/a-gush-of-bird-song-a-patter-of-dew-a-cloud-and-a-rainbow-s-warning/) [Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/) > [Cobbled streets and no shops open past six o'clock, a communal life that seemed to revolve around church, and where you could often hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/cobbled-streets-and-no-shops-open-past-six-o-clock-a-communal-life/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [My faith is the grand drama of my life. I'm a believer, so I sing words of God to those who have no faith.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-messiaen/my-faith-is-the-grand-drama-of-my-life-i-m-a-believer-so-i-sing-words/) [Olivier Messiaen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-messiaen/) > [Winter has caused damage everywhere: meadow and forest are all grey, where before you heard many sounds. If I could see the girls play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walther-von-der-vogelweide/winter-has-caused-damage-everywhere-meadow-and-forest-are-all-grey/) [Walther von der Vogelweide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walther-von-der-vogelweide/) ## More by Hal Whitehead > [Studying the behavior of large whales has been likened to astronomy. The observer glimpses his subjects, often at long range; he cannot do experiments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/studying-the-behavior-of-large-whales-has-been-likened-to-astronomy/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [But one thing that seems pretty clear when we look at human religion is that it's highly tied in with human culture. So if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/but-one-thing-that-seems-pretty-clear-when-we-look-at-human-religion/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [We believe we're seeing, in other animals, a process, or an attribute, that isn't fundamentally different from what we see in humans, so it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/we-believe-we-re-seeing-in-other-animals-a-process-or-an-attribute/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Whales are cultural animals, and we're cultural animals, so although we shouldn't expect whales to do what we do, it doesn't seem unreasonable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/whales-are-cultural-animals-and-we-re-cultural-animals-so-although-we/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [What I mean by it, and roughly what most biologists who talk about culture mean by it, is either behavior itself, or information that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/what-i-mean-by-it-and-roughly-what-most-biologists-who-talk-about/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Culture is not usually one of the criterion for personhood, but it has been argued that culture is sort of a medium for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/culture-is-not-usually-one-of-the-criterion-for-personhood-but-it-has/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Conversation with animals could happen, but I think it would be easier for it to happen with creatures we share a bit more with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/conversation-with-animals-could-happen-but-i-think-it-would-be-easier/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Religion's pretty pervasive in humans. And why it's pervasive in humans is debated a lot. There are indications of things that look like religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/religion-s-pretty-pervasive-in-humans-and-why-it-s-pervasive-in/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Humans are particularly interesting; our culture is incredible, there's no doubt about that. In many respects, no other species matches ours. But in quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/humans-are-particularly-interesting-our-culture-is-incredible-there-s/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [The real controversy comes with anthropologists - not all, but some - who see themselves as studying culture, and they then see culture from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/the-real-controversy-comes-with-anthropologists-not-all-but-some-who/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I was very lucky. I was just finishing my PhD at Cambridge in 1981. This opportunity came up because whaling was drawing to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-was-very-lucky-i-was-just-finishing-my-phd-at-cambridge-in-1981/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I don't like to be dismissive of whales speaking possibilities. There is a pretty New Age-y, poorly thought set of ideas about this going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-don-t-like-to-be-dismissive-of-whales-speaking-possibilities-there/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [I never thought of that one, that linguistics could be driving cultural things. There are some thoughts that that does happen in humans, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/i-never-thought-of-that-one-that-linguistics-could-be-driving/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [Psychologists would say that the only two important forms of social learning are imitation and teaching, and they will spend time trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/psychologists-would-say-that-the-only-two-important-forms-of-social/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) > [It's kind of ironic that when you look at the evidence of intelligence and so on, a lot of it is anecdotal. A lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-whitehead/it-s-kind-of-ironic-that-when-you-look-at-the-evidence-of/) [Hal Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) [Explore all 21 Hal Whitehead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-whitehead/) ## More Agree quotes > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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