Dutch - Scientist | October 29, 1948 -
The intuitive connection children feel with animals can be a tremendous source of joy. The unconditional love received from pets, and the lack of artifice in the relationship, contrast sharply with the much trickier dealings with members of their own species.
Frans de Waal
LoveRelationshipChildrenJoyFeel
Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant.
ElephantSelfBlurLineBrainsBeen
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.
TravelSocietyEasyYouLookHuman
Chimpanzees, typically, kiss and embrace after fights. They first make eye contact from a distance to see the mood of the others. Then they approach and kiss and embrace.
KissEyeDistanceMoodEmbraceSee
Chimps don't have language. Humans actively instruct others about how things should be done. Chimpanzees probably pick up cultural traditions by observation.
LanguageDoneObservationOthersUp
The more self-aware an animal is, the more empathetic it tends to be.
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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.
PeopleDangerousSometimesAnimals
Human morality is unthinkable without empathy.
EmpathyMoralityHumanWithout
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.
PatienceWomenWomanDatingAnimal
I am personally not against keeping animals at zoos, as they serve a huge educational purpose, but treating them well and with respect seems the least we could do, and with 'we' I mean not just zoo staff, but most certainly also the public.
RespectPurposeI AmAnimalsZoo
People want to work with somebody who feels shame, who worries about the perceptions of others. Dishonesty is something we don't like in others.
WorkPeopleWantShameDishonesty
There has been so much underestimating of animal cognition that to perhaps overestimate it, as I probably do, is probably a healthy reaction.
AnimalHealthyReactionBeenMuch
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