(logo whooshing)
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- [Narrator] We are the paradoxical ape,
bipedal,
naked,
large brain,
long the master of fire, tools and language,
but still trying to understand ourselves.
Aware that death is inevitable
yet filled with optimism.
We grow up slowly.
We hand down knowledge.
We empathize and deceive.
We shape the future
from our shared understanding of the past.
CARTA brings together experts from diverse disciplines
to exchange insights on who we are and how we got here.
An exploration made possible by the generosity of humans
like you.
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- Greetings and welcome to this Virtual CARTA Symposium.
My name is Pascal Gagneux
and I am the Associate Director of CARTA.
Alyssa Crittenden and I have the pleasure
of co-chairing this inaugural symposium
on Comparative Anthropogeny,
entitled, Exploring The Human-Ape Paradox.
From the earliest days
of the organization now known as CARTA
it was recognized that an effective approach to anthropogeny
was to compile all known or suspected features
that appear distinct to the human species.
From molecules and cells to minds and societies.
Asking how, why, when?
and in what order these distinctly human features evolved.
An incomplete version of the current listing
can be found at the CARTA website
entitled, "The Matrix Of Comparative Anthropogeny"
or MOCA for short.
The goal of the Comparative Anthropogeny project
is to complete and publish peer reviewed versions
of the summaries in a new open access online book
at the National Library of Medicine
called Comparative Anthropogeny or CompAnth for short.
We humans present a paradoxical constellation
of biologically enculturated characteristics,
intertwined, biological and cultural features
with no parallel among other living species.
And there was no available peer reviewed resource
that compiles all such distinctly human features.
The knowledge compiled with this comparative resource
will not only advance our understanding
of the human phenomenon.
It will also facilitate the generation
of cascading practical insights
for navigating the many challenges
posed by the Anthropocene.
The current period of human driven planetary changes,
including threats to biodiversity
on stable migration patterns,
changing fertility rates, aging populations,
conflicts between different cultures,
global food production,
and last but not least human impacts
on global climate disruption.
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