216 Quotes by Frans de Waal

"To neglect the common ground with other primates, and to deny the evolutionary roots of human morality, would be like arriving at the top of a tower to declare that the rest of the building is irrelevant, that the precious concept of “tower” ought to be reserved for the summit."

"Instead of being a surface phenomenon in our expanded neocortex, moral decision-making apparently taps into millions of years of social evolution."

"There is little evidence that other animals judge the appropriateness of actions that do not directly affect themselves."

"But those stories inspire observations and experiments that do help us sort out what’s going on. The science fiction novelist Isaac Asimov reportedly once said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny."

"Morality, after all, has nothing to do with selflessness. On the contrary, self-interest is precisely the basis of the categorical imperative."

"Feelings happen when emotions bubble to the surface so that we become aware of them. When we are conscious of our emotions, we are able to express them in words and make others aware of them:."

"When we are bad, we are worse than any primate that I know. And when we are good, we are actually better and more altruistic than any primate that I know."

"War is evitable if conditions are such that the costs of making war are higher than the benefits."

"The common argument that men are naturally polygamous and women naturally monogamous is as full of holes as Swiss cheese."

"Female bonobos form a strong sisterhood. They rule through female solidarity."