Unlike the primate hand, the elephant's grasping organ is also its nose. Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to sniff and touch it. With their unparalleled sense of smell, the animals know exactly what they are going for. Vision is secondary. Frans de Waal animalelephantfood share on social
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 basisbuildjury Change image and share on social
The thinking is that we started evolving language not by speaking but by gesturing. Frans de Waal evolvegesturelanguage Change image and share on social
If there is any form of contagion that is adaptive, it is the immediate response to the fear of others. If others are fearful, there may be good reason for you to be fearful too. Frans de Waal adaptivecontagionfear Change image and share on social
I was too restless as a boy to sit through an entire mass. It was akin to aversion training. I looked at it like a puppet show with a totally predictable story line. The only aspect I really liked was the music. Frans de Waal akinaspectaversion share on social
Sometimes I read about someone saying with great authority that animals have no intentions and no feelings, and I wonder, 'Doesn't this guy have a dog?' Frans de Waal animalauthoritydog Change image and share on social
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 animalisticbehaveblame Change image and share on social
The primate laugh is given in playful contexts, and as such has a strong similarity to the human laugh. Frans de Waal contexthumanlaugh Change image and share on social
Chimpanzees have very strong preferences and aversions that are completely personality-linked. The people who are unsuccessful in working with chimpanzees are those who take this personally. Frans de Waal aversionchimpanzeecompletely Change image and share on social
The role of inequity in society is grossly underestimated. Inequity is not good for your health, basically. Frans de Waal basicallygoodgrossly Change image and share on social
