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    Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved
    Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved
    Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved
    Audiobook6 hours

    Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved

    Written by Frans de Waal

    Narrated by Alan Sklar

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    About this audiobook

    "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 audiobook, primatologist Frans de Waal argues that modern-day evolutionary biology takes far too dim a view of the natural world, emphasizing our "selfish" genes. Science has thus exacerbated our reciprocal habits of blaming nature when we act badly and labeling the good things we do as "humane". Seeking the origin of human morality not in evolution but in human culture, science insists that we are moral by choice, not by nature.

    Citing remarkable evidence based on his extensive research of primate behavior, de Waal attacks "Veneer Theory", which posits morality as a thin overlay on an otherwise nasty nature. He explains how we evolved from a long line of animals that care for the weak and build cooperation with reciprocal transactions. Drawing on both Darwin and recent scientific advances, de Waal demonstrates a strong continuity between human and animal behavior. In the process, he also probes issues such as anthropomorphism and human responsibilities toward animals.

    Based on the Tanner Lectures de Waal delivered at Princeton University's Center for Human Values in 2004, Primates and Philosophers includes responses by the philosophers Peter Singer, Christine M. Korsgaard, and Phillip Kitcher, and the science writer Robert Wright. They press de Waal to clarify the differences between humans and other animals, yielding a lively debate that will fascinate all those who wonder about the origins and reach of human goodness.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity Press Audiobooks
    Release dateJul 16, 2010
    ISBN9781987100044
    Author

    Frans de Waal

    Frans de Waal was a Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist. Named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People, he is the author of Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, among many other works. He was also the C. H. Candler Professor in Emory University's Psychology Department and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia and died in 2024.

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    Reviews for Primates and Philosophers

    4.5/5

    36 ratings2 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Moralism is a pleague of our society. Right & wrong, black & white ohh this thing are pure inventions of humans.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      EXTRAORDINAY!
      A GREAT EXPLANATION TO UNDERSTAND
      OUR HOMO SAPIENS HISTORY FROM THE BEGINNING TILL TODAY.

      1 person found this helpful