Empathy probably started out as a mechanism to improve maternal care. Mammalian mothers who were attentive to their young's needs were more likely to rear successful offspring. Frans de Waal More Quotes by Frans de Waal More Quotes From Frans de Waal You should know as much as you can about the human species if you have a hand in designing human society. Frans de Waal design should hands I have often noticed how primate groups in their entirety enter a similar mood. All of a sudden, all of them are playful, hopping around. Or all of them are grumpy. Or all of them are sleepy and settle down. In such cases, the mood contagion serves the function of synchronizing activities. Frans de Waal sleepy groups mood Why not assume that our humanity, including the self-control needed for livable societies, is built into us? Does anyone truly believe that our ancestors lacked social norms before they had religion? Did they never assist others in need, or complain about an unfair deal? Humans must have worried about the functioning of their communities well before the current religions arose, which is only a few thousand years ago. Frans de Waal self believe years I've argued that many of what philosophers call moral sentiments can be seen in other species. In chimpanzees and other animals, you see examples of sympathy, empathy, reciprocity, a willingness to follow social rules. Dogs are a good example of a species that have and obey social rules; that's why we like them so much, even though they're large carnivores. Frans de Waal empathy dog animal The thinking is that we started evolving language not by speaking but by gesturing. Frans de Waal evolve language thinking The fact that the apes exist and that we can study them is extremely important and makes us reflect on ourselves and our human nature. In that sense alone, you need to protect the apes. Frans de Waal apes important needs War is evitable if conditions are such that the costs of making war are higher than the benefits. Frans de Waal benefits cost war Religions have a strong binding function and a cohesive element. They emphasize the primacy of the community as opposed to the individual, and they also help set one community apart from another that doesn't share their beliefs. Frans de Waal atheism community strong I describe in 'Chimpanzee Politics' how the alpha male needs broad support to reach the top spot. He needs some close allies and he needs many group members to be on his side. Frans de Waal allies males support The original form is the contagion of fear and alarm. You're in a flock of birds. One bird suddenly takes off. You have no time to wait and see what's going on. You take off, too. Otherwise, you're lunch. Frans de Waal lunch waiting bird When we are bad, we are worse than any primate that I know. And when we are good, we are actually better and more altruistic than any primate that I know. Frans de Waal primates knows There's actually a lot of evidence in primates and other animals that they return favors. Frans de Waal animal motivational inspirational The role of inequity in society is grossly underestimated. Inequity is not good for your health, basically. Frans de Waal underestimated roles Personally, I think it is possible to build a society that is moral on a nonreligious basis, but the jury is still out on that. Frans de Waal bases moral thinking The primate laugh is given in playful contexts, and as such has a strong similarity to the human laugh. Frans de Waal primates strong laughing The more self-aware an animal is, the more empathetic it tends to be. Frans de Waal empathetic self animal There is little evidence that other animals judge the appropriateness of actions that do not directly affect themselves. Frans de Waal judging littles animal Science is not inherently good. Frans de Waal Chimpanzees, typically, kiss and embrace after fights. They first make eye contact from a distance to see the mood of the others. Then they approach and kiss and embrace. Frans de Waal distance fighting eye People want to work with somebody who feels shame, who worries about the perceptions of others. Dishonesty is something we don't like in others. Frans de Waal perception worry people
