The development of family entities enables men to cooperate far more effectively. Instead of constantly competing for the women with other men, each man essentially has a partner assigned to him, one with whom he can establish a family. Frans de Waal More Quotes by Frans de Waal More Quotes From Frans de Waal We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like. Frans de Waal blame credit Humans have a lot of pro-social tendencies. Frans de Waal tendencies humans social Future benefits rarely figure in the minds of animals. Frans de Waal benefits mind animal A chimpanzee who is really gearing up for a fight doesn't waste time with gestures but just goes ahead and attacks. Frans de Waal gestures waste fighting Morality, after all, has nothing to do with selflessness. On the contrary, self-interest is precisely the basis of the categorical imperative. Frans de Waal categorical-imperative morality self Humans became easy prey when they moved from the forest to the savanna, which deprived them of the option of climbing trees to flee predators. This shift made it necessary for the men to actively protect the women and their babies. Only as a result of this protection were women able to give birth in shorter intervals, perhaps once every two or three years. This meant that they could produce offspring about twice as frequently as apes. I would be willing to bet that this rapid reproduction is one of the reasons why we dominate the world today, and not the apes. Frans de Waal climbing baby men In humans, the family prevents infanticide. Next to language, the core family, consisting of a mother, a father and children, is the greatest difference between us and other primates. Frans de Waal mother father children When someone brutally kills someone else, we call him "animalistic." But we consider ourselves "human" when we give to the poor. Frans de Waal animalistic poor giving The hamadryas baboon is a harem holder where one male mates with multiple females. Frans de Waal baboons males female Wild groups of chimpanzees attack their enemies like gangs. What they completely lack, precisely because of their strong territorial behavior, is a friendly relationship with their neighbors. Frans de Waal strong friendly enemy We justify the inequalities by saying some people are just better and smarter than others and the strong should survive and the poor can die off. Frans de Waal poor strong people When it comes to social interaction, the chimpanzees appear to be just as intelligent as we are. Frans de Waal chimpanzees intelligent social The chimpanzees could tear me apart in no time. They're many times stronger than we are. Frans de Waal chimpanzees stronger tears As far as the environment is concerned, I am becoming pessimistic because I do not see anybody stepping up and taking the long view approach. It seems like we're stuck in a tragedy of the commons where everyone is trying to contribute as little as possible to get out of this situation. Frans de Waal views trying long When humans behave murderously, such as inflicting senseless slaughter of innocents in warfare, we like to blame it on some dark, 'animalistic' instinct. Frans de Waal some like blame dark Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant. Frans de Waal mouse elephant blur self If one bird foraging in a flock on the ground suddenly takes off, all other birds will take off immediately after, before they even know what's going on. The one who stays behind may be prey. Frans de Waal birds will know bird What is the evolutionary value of blushing? It seems not to be to our advantage to do it, to involuntarily reveal our inner emotions. If we're trying to manipulate or lie, actions in furtherance of individual goals as opposed to the goals of others, blushing would not seem to be helpful. And yet everyone blushes, except the psychopath. Frans de Waal value goals emotions lie The term 'alpha female' originated in my field of animal behavior, but has acquired new meaning. It refers to women who are in charge, for example, by flirting and dating on their own terms. It is also used maliciously for a loud-mouthed, controlling woman who has no patience with deviating opinions. Frans de Waal woman women patience animal There has been so much underestimating of animal cognition that to perhaps overestimate it, as I probably do, is probably a healthy reaction. Frans de Waal reaction been healthy animal
