By Science News
What’s fair?
I suggest that we view the results described in “Unfair Trade: Monkeys demand equitable exchanges” (SN: 9/20/03, p. 181: Unfair Trade: Monkeys demand equitable exchanges) as indicating that humans frequently act like monkeys, not vice versa. Further, what is being measured as fairness may better be seen as the basis for envy and greed. It is not surprising that monkeys have the ability to display these tendencies, but they are not the epitome of what makes us human.