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One of the world's foremost primatologists explores what our two closest relatives in the animal kingdom--the violent, power-hungry chimpanzee and the cooperative, empathetic bonobo--can tell us about the duality of our own human nature. We have long attributed man's violent, aggressive, competitive nature to his animal ancestry. But what if we are just as given to cooperation, empathy and morality by virtue of our genes? For nearly twenty years, Frans de Waal has worked with both the famously aggressive chimpanzee and the lesser-known egalitarian, erotic, matriarchal bonobo, two species whose DNA is nearly identical to that of humans. In this book, he lets their personalities, relationships, power struggles, and high jinks captivate our hearts and minds. The result is a surprising narrative that explores what their behavior can teach us about the most provocative aspects of human nature.--From publisher description.
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1
Ren lei de yuan xing: yi wei quan wei de ling zhang lei dong wu jia dui ren lei de jie du
2007, Shanghai ke xue ji shu wen xian chu ban she
in Chinese
- De 1 ban
7543931850 9787543931855
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Our inner ape: a leading primatologist explains why we are who we are
2005, Riverhead Books
in English
1573223123 9781573223126
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Translation of: Our inner ape.
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"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
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March 10, 2024 | Edited by Tom Morris | merge authors |
May 7, 2023 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove 880 from edition_name |
November 29, 2010 | Edited by Markus Bonnevier | merge authors |
December 15, 2009 | Edited by WorkBot | link works |
February 18, 2009 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from San Francisco Public Library record |