Our inner ape
Subtitle: a leading primatologist explains why we are who we are
By: Frans de Waal ; photographs by the author.
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Published: 2005
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 274
ISBN-13: 9781573223126
Subjects: Chimpanzees -- Behavior; Bonobo -- Behavior; Human behavior; Psychology, Comparative
Description: "In Our Inner Ape, Frans de Waal, one of the world's great primatologists and a renowned expert on social behavior in apes, presents the provocative idea that our noblest qualities - generosity, kindness, altruism - are as much a part of our nature as are our baser instincts. After all, we share those qualities with another primate: the lesser-known bonobo. As genetically similar to man as the chimpanzee, the bonobo has a temperament and a lifestyle vastly different from those of its genetic cousin. Where chimps are aggressive, territorial, and hierarchical, bonobos are gentle, loving, and erotic (sex for bonobos is as much about pleasure and social bonding as it is about reproduction)." "While the parallels between chimp brutality and human brutality are easy to see, de Waal suggests that the conciliatory bonobo is just as legitimate a model to study when we explore our primate heritage. He even connects humanity's desire for fairness and its morality with primate behavior, offering a view of society that contrasts markedly with the caricature some people have of Darwinian evolution. It's plain that our finest qualities run deeper in our DNA than many experts have previously thought."--BOOK JACKET
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-257) and index.
Table of contents: title: Apes in the family; title: Power; title: Sex; title: Violence; title: Kindness; title: The bipolar ape; title: Photo gallery.