Top 76 Quotes by Frans de Waal

Very long ago our ancestors had moral systems. Our current institutions are only a couple of thousand years old, which is really not old in the eyes of a biologist.

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.

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.

I think we need to start thinking about grounding our moral systems in our biology.

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.

Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.

I'm personally a nonbeliever, so I'm struggling with if we really need religion.

A chimpanzee who is really gearing up for a fight doesn't waste time with gestures but just goes ahead and attacks.

You should know as much as you can about the human species if you have a hand in designing human society.

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.