--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chimps can do all sorts of things we…" description: "\"Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/jane-goodall-950_abstraction_chimps-can-do-all-sorts-of-things-we-tho_1994996.jpg" --- # Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we… ![“Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - sign language - and they can use the signs. But when you think of our intellects, even the brightest chimp looks like a very small child.” quote by Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/jane-goodall-950_abstraction_chimps-can-do-all-sorts-of-things-we-tho_1994996.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/jane-goodall-950_abstraction_chimps-can-do-all-sorts-of-things-we-tho_1994996.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d2/jane-goodall-950_abstraction_chimps-can-do-all-sorts-of-things-we-tho_1994996.jpg) > “Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - sign language - and they can use the signs. But when you think of our intellects, even the brightest chimp looks like a very small child.” [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chimpanzees share many cognitive abilities with humans, but their intellect remains childlike compared to adult humans. **In simple terms:** Chimps are smart but still like children. Key Takeaway Appreciate animal cognition while recognizing human uniqueness. Themes cognition comparative psychology humility Mood thoughtful respectful Type educational scientific When to use this quote - education - conservation - research design Key Concepts tool use language learning abstraction Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance respect for animal intelligence with scientific objectivity? - What ethical considerations arise from recognizing animal cognition? A Different Perspective Comparisons can anthropomorphize animals, obscuring their distinct nature. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Chimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimp/) [Intellects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellects/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Learn A Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-a-language/) [Sign language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sign-language/) [Signs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signs/) [Small child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-child/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [When you meet chimps you meet individual personalities. When a baby chimp looks at you it's just like a human baby. We have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/when-you-meet-chimps-you-meet-individual-personalities-when-a-baby/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Studying chimps, I came to the conclusion that being evil is something that only humans are capable of. A chimp would never plan to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/studying-chimps-i-came-to-the-conclusion-that-being-evil-is-something/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [If a chimp who has been abused horribly by humans can help a human friend in a time of need, how much more should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-a-chimp-who-has-been-abused-horribly-by-humans-can-help-a-human/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [A chimp would never plan to pull another's nails out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/a-chimp-would-never-plan-to-pull-another-s-nails-out/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [There are certain characteristics that define a good chimp mother. She is patient, she is protective but she is not over-protective - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/there-are-certain-characteristics-that-define-a-good-chimp-mother-she/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I think of the chimp, the one with the talking hands. In the course of the experiment, that chimp had a baby. Imagine how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-think-of-the-chimp-the-one-with-the-talking-hands-in-the-course-of/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [Not even the type that we consider a pimp, youre out ya monkey ass mind the type we consider a chimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stack-bundles/not-even-the-type-that-we-consider-a-pimp-youre-out-ya-monkey-ass/) Stack Bundles > [Basically, we are all chimps. The human side is at the front of our forehead, but the chimp is the part that lashes out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-bellamy/basically-we-are-all-chimps-the-human-side-is-at-the-front-of-our/) [Craig Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-bellamy/) > [I can tell in two minutes if I should hire someone in the kitchen. Two minutes. It's his desire. It's that open-eyed, attentive expression.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-can-tell-in-two-minutes-if-i-should-hire-someone-in-the-kitchen-two/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [“We're allowed to go on living happy, healthy lives because tens of thousands of animals like this chimp sacrifice their lives. But all people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m/we-re-allowed-to-go-on-living-happy-healthy-lives-because-tens-of/) M > [If chimpanzees have consciousness, if they are capable of abstractions, do they not have what until now has been described as 'human rights'? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-chimpanzees-have-consciousness-if-they-are-capable-of-abstractions/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“If you wake during the night, any thoughts and feelings you might have are from your Chimp and they are often very disturbing, catastrophic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wake-during-the-night-any-thoughts-and-feelings-you-might-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The chimpanzee and the human share about 99.5 percent of their evolutionary history, yet most human thinkers regard the chimp as a malformed, irrelevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trivers/the-chimpanzee-and-the-human-share-about-99-5-percent-of-their/) [Robert Trivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trivers/) > [I'm not much for cats. I'm terrified of mice. I've worked a lot with elephants, and they are extremely intelligent and sensitive, and thankfully,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-not-much-for-cats-i-m-terrified-of-mice-i-ve-worked-a-lot-with/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiaan-barnard/i-had-bought-two-male-chimps-from-a-primate-colony-in-holland-they/) [Christiaan Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiaan-barnard/) ## More by Jane Goodall > [The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/the-voice-of-the-natural-world-would-be-could-you-please-give-us/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions, a consequence of our sophisticated spoken language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/what-makes-us-human-i-think-is-an-ability-to-ask-questions-a/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I did this book 'Harvest for Hope,' and I learned so much about food. And one thing I learned is that we have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-did-this-book-harvest-for-hope-and-i-learned-so-much-about-food-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/from-my-perspective-i-absolutely-believe-in-a-greater-spiritual-power/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We are always talking about how we can get more environmental and humanitarian education. It is about listening to the voice of young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-are-always-talking-about-how-we-can-get-more-environmental-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some humans are mathematicians-others aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-humans-are-mathematicians-others-aren-t/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We started off with physical evolution and got our form. Then we somehow developed language, which meant cultural evolution could race so we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-started-off-with-physical-evolution-and-got-our-form-then-we/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I wanted to talk to the animals like Dr. Dolittle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-wanted-to-talk-to-the-animals-like-dr-dolittle/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some people say, therefore, that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-people-say-therefore-that-violence-and-war-are-inevitable-i-say/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It's been proven by quite a few studies that plants are good for our psychological development. If you green an area, the rate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-s-been-proven-by-quite-a-few-studies-that-plants-are-good-for-our/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Having respect for animals makes us better humans..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/having-respect-for-animals-makes-us-better-humans/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-we-kill-off-the-wild-then-we-are-killing-a-part-of-our-souls/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“We still have a long way to go. But we are moving in the right direction. If only we can overcome cruelty, to human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-still-have-a-long-way-to-go-but-we-are-moving-in-the-right/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) [Explore all 321 Jane Goodall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## More Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) Banesh Hoffmann > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Chimps can do all sorts of things we thought that only we could do - like tool-making and abstraction and generalisation. They can learn a language - sign language - and they can use the signs. 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