Frans de Waal

"People often assume a cognitive ladder, from lower to higher forms, with our own intelligence at the top. But what if it is more like a bush, with cognition taking different forms that are often incomparable to ours? Would you presume yourself dumber than a squirrel because you're less adept at recalling the locations of hundreds of buried acorns? Or would you judge your perception of your surroundings as more sophisticated than that of a echolocating bat? De Waal reviews the rise and fall of the mechanistic view of animals and opens our minds to the idea that animal minds are far more intricate and complex than we have assumed"--Dust jacket flap.

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

The first edition of Frans de Waal's Chimpanzee Politics was acclaimed not only by primatologists for its scientific achievement but also by a much broader audience of politicians, business leaders, and social psychologists for its remarkable insights into very basic human needs and behaviors. In this revised edition—featuring a new gallery of color photographs along with a new introduction and epilogue—de Waal expands and updates his story of the Arnhem colony and its continuing political upheavals. We learn the fate of many memorable chimpanzees and meet the colony's current leaders and their allies. The new edition remains a detailed and thoroughly engrossing account—of sexual rivalries and coalitions, of actions governed by intelligence rather than instinct—and it reaffirms the complex bond between humans and their closest living relatives. As we watch the chimpanzees of Arnhem behave in ways we recognize from Machiavelli (and from the nightly news), de Waal reminds us again that the roots of politics are older than humanity.

Power and Sex among Apes

Chimpanzee Politics

Frans B. M. Waal

In this thoroughly engaging book, leading primatologist and thinker Frans de Waal offers a heartening, illuminating new perspective on human nature. Bringing together his pioneering research on primate behavior, the latest findings in evolutionary biology, and insights from moral philosophy, de Waal explains that we don't need the specters of God or the law in order to act morally. Instead, our moral nature stems from our biology—specifically, our primate social emotions, which include empathy, reciprocity, and fairness. We can glimpse this in the behavior of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom: chimpanzees soothe distressed neighbors, and bonobos will voluntarily open a door to offer a companion access to their own food. Building on a wealth of evidence, de Waal reveals that morality is not dictated to us by religion or social strictures. Rather, it is the inevitable product of our biological nature.

The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates

From an internationally renowned authority on primatology and psychology comes a fascinating investigation of empathy in both humans and animals.

Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society

The Age of Empathy

"New York Times best-selling author and world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal explores sex and gender in both humans and other animals. Though many scholars now argue that gender differences are purely a product of socialization, primatologist Frans de Waal illustrates in Different the scientific, evolutionary basis for gender differences in humans, drawing on his decades of experience working with our closest ape relatives: chimpanzees and bonobos. De Waal illuminates their behavioral and biological differences, and compares and contrasts them with human behavior: male domination and territoriality in chimpanzees and the female-led pacific society of bonobos. In his classic conversational style and a narrative rich in anecdotes and wry observations, de Waal tackles topics including gender identity, sexuality, gender-based violence, same-sex rivalry, homosexuality, friendship, and nurturance. He reveals how evolutionary biology can inform a more nuanced-and equitable-cultural understanding of gender. Ultimately, he argues, our two nearest primate relatives are equally close to us, and equally relevant. Considering all available evidence, we can learn much about ourselves and embrace our similarities as well as our differences"--

Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

Different

Argues that such social virtues as cooperation, empathy, and morality are as genetically inherent as aggressive and competitive behaviors, drawing on research with two ape species whose DNA most closely resembles that of humans to explain how ape instincts can inform readers about human behavior. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

A Leading Primatologist Explains why We are who We are

Our Inner Ape

F. B. M. de Waal

How Morality Evolved (The University Center for Human Values Series)

Primates and Philosophers

What separates your mind from that of an animal? Is it the ability to design tools; a sense of self; or the grasp of past and future? In recent decades these claims have eroded, or even been disproven outright, by a revolution in the study of animal cognition. Waal explores both the scope and the depth of animal intelligence, offering a firsthand account of how science has stood traditional behaviorism on its head by revealing how smart animals really are, and how we've underestimated their abilities for too long.

Are We Smart Enough Know How Smart Anima

Waal shows how ethical behavior is as much a matter of evolution as any other trait.

The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals

Good Natured

Mama's Last Hug opens with the moving farewell between Mama, a dying chimpanzee matriarch, and her human friend, a professor who inspired the author's work. Their parting, the video of which has been watched by millions online, is not only a window into the deep bonds they shared, but into the remarkable emotional capacities of animals. In this groundbreaking and entertaining book, primatologist Frans de Waal draws on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees, bonobos and other primates, and personal encounters with many other species, to illuminate new ideas and findings about animal emotions: joy, grief, shame, love, pain and happiness. Exploring the facial expressions of animals, human and animal politics, and animal consciousness, de Waal illustrates how profoundly we have underestimated animals' emotional experiences. He argues that emotions occupy a far more significant place in the way we organise our societies than a more rationalist approach would advocate. His radical proposal is that emotions are like organs: humans haven't a single organ that other animals don't have, and the same can be said of our emotions.

Animal Emotions and What They Teach Us about Ourselves

Mama's Last Hug

A ground-breaking look at gender and sex from the world's leading primatologist and New York Times bestselling author of ARE WE SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW SMART ANIMALS ARE? 'Brilliant and fascinating... brings a scientific, compassionate and balanced approach to some of the hottest controversies about sex and gender' Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens, Homo Deus and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century How different are the sexes? Is gender uniquely human? Where does gender identity originate? Drawing on decades of observing our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal explores what we know of biological sex differences and of the role of culture and socialization. From maternal and paternal behaviour to sexual orientation, gender identity, and the limitations of the gender binary, de Waal analyses our shared evolutionary history with the apes, considering what is similar and what sets us apart. Male and female networking groups, sexual signals, the existence of gender non-conforming individuals, and maternal bonds are observed in primate societies, but humans stand apart in the development of nuclear families, the prevalence of sexual violence, and joint parental care. With expert insight and engaging storytelling, de Waal not only sets right gendered biases in the scientific community, but delivers a fresh and thought-provoking understanding of the behavioural norms and the many remarkable potentials of the human species. 'A breath of fresh air...Fascinating, nuanced and very timely' Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind and Utopia for Realists

What Apes Can Teach Us About Gender

»Dieses Buch ist großartig! Frans de Waal ist nicht nur einer der angesehensten Primatologen der Welt – er ist auch ein mutiger Feminist.« Sy Montgomery, Autorin von »Rendevous mit einem Oktopus« Unsere beiden nächsten Primatenverwandten, die Bonobos und die Schimpansen, stehen uns nahe und sind für unser Selbstverständnis wichtig. Witzig, ironisch und fesselnd behandelt der weltbekannte Primatenforscher Frans de Waal Themen wie Geschlechtsidentität, Sexualität, geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt, gleichgeschlechtliche Rivalität, Homosexualität, Freundschaft und Fürsorge. Wie unterschiedlich sind Männer und Frauen? Gendern nur wir Menschen, oder eignen sich auch Menschenaffen geschlechtsspezifische Rollen an? Auf der Grundlage jahrzehntelanger Beobachtungen von Primaten, insbesondere unserer nächsten lebenden Verwandten, der Schimpansen und Bonobos, untersucht Frans de Waal, was wir über biologische Geschlechtsunterschiede und die Rolle von Kultur und Sozialisation wissen. Sein Fazit: Gender und Geschlecht unterscheiden sich, und Geschlecht ist mehr als ein soziales Konstrukt. Fachkundig und fesselnd räumt er nicht nur mit geschlechtsspezifischen Vorurteilen auf, die auch von Wissenschaftler viel zu lange gepflegt wurde. Ein hellwaches Buch, dass mit seinem Verständnis von Verhalten, Normen und den bemerkenswerten Potenzialen der menschlichen Spezies mehr als nur zum Nachdenken anregt. Ein Buch zum Umdenken – mit freundlicher Unterstützung von Menschenaffen und anderen Primaten. »Heutzutage ist ein Mann sehr mutig, wenn er sich auf das Minenfeld der Geschlechterunterschiede wagt. Aber Frans de Waal verlässt sich auf seine Begabung für das Erzählen von Geschichten, seinen aufrichtigen Respekt für die Kultur und seine langjährige intime Kenntnis der Bonobos und Schimpansen und ihrer Paarbildungen, um dieses tückische Terrain geschickt zu durchqueren. Klug und menschlich.« Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Autorin von The Woman that Never Evolved, Mother Nature und Mothers and Others »Die Seiten dieses Buches sind vollgepackt mit großartigen Geschichten, faszinierenden Daten und zum Nachdenken anregenden Ideen. Sie werden sicher die wichtigen Gespräche anregen, die wir alle – Männer und Frauen, queer und heterosexuell, trans und nicht-binär – führen müssen, um eine gerechtere und gleichberechtigtere menschliche Gesellschaft zu schaffen.« Sy Montgomery, Autorin von The Soul of an Octopus »Die aktuelle Debatte über Geschlechterunterschiede braucht eine ruhige biologische Bewertung, die uns Frans de Waals nachdenkliches Buch »Unterschied« liefert.«Desmond Morris, Autor von The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal »Frans de Waal bewegt sich fließend und anmutig zwischen der Welt der Tiere und Menschen und den Modellen, die wir erstellt haben, hin und her. Viele gängige gesellschaftliche Vorurteile, die wir für "ganz natürlich" halten, sind es in Wirklichkeit ganz und gar nicht. Sein klarer Stil, sein geschickter Einsatz von Anekdoten und sein tiefes Wissen über die Tierforschung sind die Grundlage für diese nuancierte und tiefgründige Betrachtung nicht nur des Unterschieds, sondern auch der Gemeinsamkeit.« Andrew Solomon, Autor von Far from the Tree und The Noonday Demon »Frauen gegen Männer. Geschlecht versus Gender. Biologie gegen soziale Prägung. Es gibt nur wenige Bereiche, die so sehr dazu verleiten, sich auf Dummköpfe einzulassen, wie das Thema der Geschlechtsunterschiede. In diesem Fall ist Frans de Waal jedoch kein Narr, sondern unser weisester Primatologe, der sich diesem unwiderstehlichen Thema zuwendet. Mit großer Klarheit, Einsicht und Witz untersucht er die menschlichen Geschlechtsunterschiede und lässt uns dabei nie vergessen, dass wir letzten Endes nur eine andere Art von Primaten sind. Dies ist eine großartige, intensiv anregende Lektüre.«Robert M. Sapolsky, Autor von Behave

Was wir von Primaten über Gender lernen können

Der Unterschied

Wiek empatii. Jak natura uczy nas życzliwości

Kas oleme küllalt nutikad mõistmaks, kui nutikad on loomad?

New York Times best-selling author and world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal explores sex and gender in both humans and other animals. Though many scholars now argue that gender differences are purely a product of socialization, primatologist Frans de Waal illustrates in Different the scientific, evolutionary basis for gender differences in humans, drawing on his decades of experience working with our closest ape relatives: chimpanzees and bonobos. De Waal illuminates their behavioral and biological differences, and compares and contrasts them with human behavior: male domination and territoriality in chimpanzees and the female-led pacific society of bonobos. In his classic conversational style and a narrative rich in anecdotes and wry observations, de Waal tackles topics including gender identity, sexuality, gender-based violence, same-sex rivalry, homosexuality, friendship, and nurturance. He reveals how evolutionary biology can inform a more nuanced—and equitable—cultural understanding of gender. Ultimately, he argues, our two nearest primate relatives are equally close to us, and equally relevant. Considering all available evidence, we can learn much about ourselves and embrace our similarities as well as our differences.

Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

Frans de Waal, etologo e primatologo di fama internazionale, ha scelto qui di approfondire il tema affascinante della vita emotiva degli animali. Il libro inizia con la morte di Mama, la scimpanzé legata da una profonda amicizia al biologo Jan van Hooff. Quando Mama era in punto di morte, van Hooff decise di congedarsi da lei con un ultimo abbraccio, a cui Mama rispose con un sorriso. Questa e altre vicende simili formano il nucleo della tesi dell’autore: gli esseri umani non sono l’unica specie capace di esprimere amore, odio, paura, vergogna, disgusto ed empatia. De Waal sottolinea la continuità esistente tra noi e le altre specie, proponendo un’interpretazione radicale per cui le emozioni sarebbero come i nostri organi: gli esseri umani non hanno alcun organo in più rispetto agli altri animali, e lo stesso vale per le emozioni. L’invito è ad aprire il cuore e la mente, a notare le moltissime connessioni esistenti tra la nostra e le altre specie e a cambiare il modo di vedere il mondo che abbiamo intorno.

Cosa dicono di noi le emozioni degli animali

L’ultimo abbraccio

Este libro describe numerosos y sorprendentes trabajos de campo realizados por estudiosos del comportamiento animal a lo largo de medio mundo con ejemplos que incluyen desde avispas a ballenas, desde pulpos a chimpancés. El lector hallará en estas páginas conmovedoras historias de cooperación y empatía entre delfines, divertidísimos ejemplos sobre la memoria visual de algunas aves o asombrosos relatos sobre un incipiente sentido del bien y del mal en los primates superiores y su capacidad para anticiparse al futuro. Por fortuna, han quedado atrás los tiempos en que los animales eran considerados meras máquinas que sólo respondían mecánicamente a los estímulos del laboratorio, pero este libro, además, nos obliga a replantearnos nuestros viejas ideas acerca de la naturaleza y los mecanismos de la inteligencia, tanto humana como animal. Durante décadas fue un lugar común pensar que sólo el ser humano era consciente de sí mismo, podía representarse el pasado y el futuro o tenía la capacidad de crear y emplear herramientas. Sin embargo, hace tiempo que los etólogos, y en especial destacados primatólogos como Frans de Waal, están cuestionando estos prejuicios.

¿Tenemos suficiente inteligencia para entender la inteligencia de los animales?

Frans de Waal nació en los Países Bajos en 1948. En 1973 se doctoró en la Universidad de Groninga y prosiguió sus estudios en la Universidad de Utrecht; es profesor en la Universidad de Emory en Atlanta, director del Yerkes Primate Center de Estados Unidos y miembro de la Academia Americana de las Ciencias, y está considerado uno de los más eminentes primatólogos y etólogos contemporáneos, especializado en la inteligencia social de primates como los chimpancés, bonobos y macacos. Es autor de otros cinco libros, entre los que destacan La política de los chimpancés (1993), Bien natural: los orígenes del bien y del mal en los humanos y otros animales (1997) o El simio y el aprendiz de sushi: reflexiones de un primatólogo sobre la cultura (2002).

Frans de Waal

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