When humans behave murderously, such as inflicting senseless slaughter of innocents in warfare, we like to blame it on some dark, 'animalistic' instinct. Frans de Waal animalisticbehaveblame Change image and share on social
The whole reason people fill their homes with furry carnivores and not with, say, iguanas and turtles, is because mammals offer something no reptile ever will. They give affection, they want affection, and respond to our emotions the way we do to theirs. Frans de Waal affectioncarnivoreemotion share on social
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. Frans de Waal allyalphabroad Change image and share on social
One thing bothered me as a student. In the 1960s, human behavior was totally off limits for the biologist. There was animal behavior, then there was a long time nothing, after which came human behavior as a totally separate category best left to a different group of scientists. Frans de Waal 1960sanimalbehavior share on social
Most exotic animals are not particularly interested in people, which makes it hard to provoke them. Human-rearing gets them used to and sometimes imprinted on humans, which makes them potentially dangerous. Frans de Waal animaldangerousexotic share on social
Octopuses have hundreds of suckers, each one equipped with its own ganglion with thousands of neurons. These 'mini-brains' are interconnected, making for a widely distributed nervous system. That is why a severed octopus arm may crawl on its own and even pick up food. Frans de Waal armbraincrawl share on social
The term 'alpha female' originated in my field of animal behavior, but has acquired new meaning. It refers to women who are in charge, for example, by flirting and dating on their own terms. It is also used maliciously for a loud-mouthed, controlling woman who has no patience with deviating opinions. Frans de Waal acquirealphaanimal share on social
The sturdiest pillars of human morality are compassion and a sense of justice. Frans de Waal compassionhumanjustice Change image and share on social
Chimps cannot tell us anything about peaceful relations, because chimps have only different degrees of hostility between communities. Whereas bonobos do tell us something; they tell us about the possibility of having peaceful relationships. Frans de Waal bonoboschimpcommunity 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