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
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
We need to separate the process of evolution - which is, indeed, a self-serving process - and the actual motivations of animals. Frans de Waal actualanimalevolution Change image and share on social
Many economists are great believers in the idea that everything in nature is competitive and that we should set up a society which is competitive to reflect that. Anyone who cannot keep up, well, too bad. Frans de Waal badbelievercompetitive share on social
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 activitycasecontagion share on social
Although elephants are far more distantly related to us than the great apes, they seem to have evolved similar social and cognitive capacities. Frans de Waal apecapacitycognitive Change image and share on social
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 ancientblurbrain Change image and share on social
Deep down, creationists realize they will never win factual arguments with science. This is why they have construed their own science-like universe, known as Intelligent Design, and eagerly jump on every tidbit of information that seems to go their way. Frans de Waal argumentconstruecreationist 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