Table of contents

  • Man and Beast

    • History

      Evolving divides

      Is man superior to animals? Or is he an animal like the rest? A glance at the shifting conceptions of western history.

    • Interview

      Strategies of life

      Meeting with philosopher Dominique Lestel, author of“Les origines animales de la culture” (“The animal origins of culture") and other works

    • Man and Beast - In brief

      In brief

  • © Chris Herzfeld, Semendwa, «Lola ya Bonobo», Chutes de la Lukaya (RDC)

    Frontier

    • Paleontology

      Tracking our origins

      The discovery of Toumaï (7 million year old) in Chad, has overturned the previously accepted chronology of the Homo genus. And palaeontologists can expect further surprises.

    • Genetics

      The 1% that changes everything

      The sequencing of the human and chimpanzee genomes offers new avenues to researchers in the European PKB 140404 project.

    • Language

      How word came to us

      Why is language specific to human beings? We examine theHand to mouth and Calacei projects.

    • Thought

      What animals cannot conceive

      Various European research teams are becoming interested in abstract language, embodiment, the processing of signs and the specific asymmetry of the human brain.

    • Frontier - In brief

      In brief

  • Phyllium giganteum. The body of this Malaysian stick insect has the peculiarity of being identical in every way to a leaf. It is a perfect example of mimesis, the phenomenon by which insects imitate plants. © Patrick Ageneau/Musée des Confluences, Lyon (FR)

    Aptitudes & attitudes

    • Cognition

      No monopoly on thought

      Might animals have powers of abstraction and be capable of mental operations? Different viewpoints on these aptitudes.

    • Socialisation

      Oneself and the others

      We zoom in on socialization, life in couples and family life, as well as the “group effect” noted in certain species

    • Imitation

      Who is aping whom?

      Mimicry, the key to learning, analysed by researchers from the Edici European project..

    • Communication

      The meaning of sounds

      Animals communicate by gestures, cries, looks – but also by sounds, at times of surprising complexity.

    • Aptitudes & attitudes - In brief

      In brief

  • © Michel Vanden Eeckhoudt

    Usage & abusage

    • Cohabitation

      Cunning canines

      Dogs are past masters in the art of understanding human communication, thanks to a long cohabitation.

    • Portrait

      “Animal production is the opposite of husbandry”

      Jocelyne Porcher studies suffering – both of humans and animals ¬– in livestock farming.

    • Zoonoses

      Fragile species barrier

      Over 60% of the microbes at the root of human infectious diseases can pass from animals to man. The European Med-Vet-Net network is devoted to preventing and controlling these zoonoses.

    • Animal experimentation

      Contentious alter of progress

      Can we do without animal experiments? Altnernative methods exist. And Europe has decided to help them.

    • Interview

      Ethics for animals?

      Interview with Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, author of Ethique animale (Animal Ethics). A work that brings together law, philosophy, history and examples of practice in the treatment of animals.

    • Usage & abusage - In brief

      In brief

  • Figure mbotumbo – Baule (Côte d’Ivoire). © Musée Dapper/photo Hughes Dubois

    Imagination

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