Religion looms as large as an elephant in the United States, to the point that being nonreligious is about the biggest handicap a politician running for office can have, bigger than being gay, unmarried, thrice married, or black. Frans de Waal bigblackelephant share on social
Religion may have become a codification of morality, and it may fortify it, but it's not the origin of it. Frans de Waal codificationfortifymorality Change image and share on social
Male chimpanzees have an extraordinarily strong drive for dominance. They're constantly jockeying for position. Frans de Waal chimpanzeeconstantlydominance Change image and share on social
If you look at human society, it is very easy, of course, to compare our warfare and territoriality with the chimpanzee. But that's only one side of what we do. We also trade, we intermarry, we allow each other to travel through our territory. There's an enormous amount of cooperation. Frans de Waal amountchimpanzeecompare share on social
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 attentivecareempathy Change image and share on social
Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament. Frans de Waal apearmbody Change image and share on social