FRANS DE WAAL

Can virtuous behavior be explained by nature and not by human rational choice It s the animal in us we often hear when we ve been bad But why not when we re good Primates and Philosophers tackles this question by exploring the biological foundations of one of humanity s most valued traits morality In this provocative book renowned primato

"Here at last is a book that will give the fourth great ape the visibility that this wonderful species deserves. You will learn that bonobos are not just ''little'' chimpanzees, but are every bit as different from chimpanzees as chimpanzees are from gorillas. If you care about the great apes, this book, with its superb photographs and vivid text, is a must."--Jane Goodall "Bonobo provides a tantalizing introduction into the natural history of one of our closest living relatives and uniquely enhances our understanding of our own place in Nature. Anyone who has the pleasure of reading this book will come away with deeper insights into why we humans behave the way we do. We should not be afraid of acknowledging the Bonobo in all of us."--Don Johanson, Director, Institute of Human Origins "With this book, de Waal and Lanting ask us to give bonobos their due--to be considered along side the better known common chimpanzee as close human cousins. How nice to have the peaceable, sexy, bonobo added to the path of human evolution! Bonobos represent the silver lining in our ape heritage."--Meredith Small, author of "What''s Love Got to Do With It? The Evolution of Human Mating "As a chronicler of natural history today, Frans Lanting is a singular, extraordinary talent. He has the mind of a scientist, the heart of a hunter, and the eyes of a poet. He is as persistent, adaptable, and hard as the wild creatures he observes. His bonobo photographs bring us face-to-face with a group of highly endangered apes. Eerily, aspects of their behavior mirror our own."--Thomas R. Kennedy, Director of Photography, National Geographic Society This remarkable primate with the curious name is challenging established views on human evolution. The bonobo, least known of the great apes, is a female-centered, egalitarian species that has been dubbed the "make-love-not-war" primate by specialists. In bonobo society, females form alliances to intimidate males, sexual behavior (in virtually every partner combination) replaces aggression and serves many social functions, and unrelated groups mingle instead of fighting. The species''s most striking achievement is not tool use or warfare but sensitivity to others. In the first book to combine and compare data from captivity an

What separates your mind from the mind of an animal? maybe you think its your ability to design tools, your sense of self, or your grasp of past and future - all traits that have helped us define ourselves as the pre-eminent species on earth. but in recent decades, claims of human superiority have been eroded by a revolution in the study of animal cognition. take the way octopuses use coconut shells as tools, or how elephants can classify humans by age, gender, and language. take ayumu, the young male chimpanzee at kyoto university who demonstrates his species exceptional photographic memory. based on research on a range of animals, including crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, whales, and, of course, chimpanzees and bonobos, frans de waal explores the scope and depth of animal intelligence, revealing how we have grossly underestimated non-human brains. he overturns the view of animals as stimulus-response beings and opens our eyes to their complex and intricate minds. with astonishing stories of animal cognition, are we smart enough to know how smart animals are? challenges everything you thought you knew about animal - and human - intelligence.