Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are (original 2005; edition 2006)

De Waal takes the reader on a tour of the remarkable differences between chimpanzees and bonobo's, our two closest relatives, relating their traits back to human behaviour and predispositions. As a premier expert in primatology, De Waal knows his subject a noone else.

What I don't understand is why the author repeatedly takes a stand against the (popular) evolutionary literature of the last 30 years (characterizing it as focusing only on the brutish, selfish aspects of natural selection and keeping a blind eye to the fact that altruism, reciprocity and love exist). I personally really like books like The Selfish Gene and Darwin's Dangerous Idea and I found the ideas presented by De Waal to be in no way in conflict with the ideas from these books. In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins too stresses that the harsh, emotionless character of the selection process does not necessarily produce behaviour that is brutish ans selfish towards other beings. In the race for reproduction, morality, care for others and altruism can be viable strategies. Axelrod's The Evolution Of Cooperation (1984) is about exactly this comforting observation: moral and caring behaviour is in no way evolutionary naive.

Back to De Waal's book: apart from the slight irritation over the strawman argument against Dawkins c.s., I truly enjoyed this book. I have gained many new insights in the reasons behind certain behaviours in both humans and animals. I hope to be able to see chimpanzees or bonobo's in the wild some day and I will definitely reread this book then. Until then, the apes will claim (even) more time of the zoo visits I like to make. The chapter on chimpanzee power politics is a masterpiece. The author has an admirable ability to mix scientific observations and very personal, emotionally touching stories into a convincing presentation of a theory. He always makes sure that anecdotal evidence is marked as such and used as an illustration only. But what nice illustions they make!

All in all, I loved this book.

EDIT: I've just returned from a visit to Mahale Mountains NP, where I had the privilige of seeing chimps in the wild while re-reading this book. The book totally stands up to a second reading. Loved it again. Read this book. ( )

Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are by Frans De Waal (2006)

Stopped a fourth from the end. Not very good. Expected better from a famous scientist. ( )

Haz el bonobo baby!

Just finished Our Inner Ape by Frans De Waal. It was outstanding. De Waal, who mostly studies chimpanzees, is also an authority on the lesser-known bonobo, which exhibits behaviors such as generosity and altruism that he argues are just as much a part of our nature as our more violent qualities often linked to our commonalities with chimpanzees. This is one of those great science books that can be read by an educated layperson. And where else are you going to read Yogi Berra, Keith Richards and the Chinese sage Mencius quoted in the same work? (There's also an interesting comparision between gun ownership and breast-feeding.) Also, De Waal takes a shot at Richard Dawkins' selfish gene, which is pretty convincing. ( )