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Nature's Lessons For A Kinder Society
Harmony
October 2009
On Sale: September 22, 2009
304 pages
ISBN: 0307407764
EAN: 9780307407764
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
"An important and timely message about the biological roots
of human kindness."
—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape Are we our brothers' keepers? Do we have an instinct for
compassion? Or are we, as is often assumed, only on earth to
serve our own survival and interests? In this
thought-provoking book, the acclaimed author of Our Inner
Ape examines how empathy comes naturally to a great variety
of animals, including humans. By studying social behaviors
in animals, such as bonding, the herd instinct, the forming
of trusting alliances, expressions of consolation, and
conflict resolution, Frans de Waal demonstrates that
animals–and humans–are "preprogrammed to reach out." He has
found that chimpanzees care for mates that are wounded by
leopards, elephants offer "reassuring rumbles" to youngsters
in distress, and dolphins support sick companions near the
water's surface to prevent them from drowning. From day one
humans have innate sensitivities to faces, bodies, and
voices; we've been designed to feel for one another. De Waal's theory runs counter to the assumption that humans
are inherently selfish, which can be seen in the fields of
politics, law, and finance, and which seems to be evidenced
by the current greed-driven stock market collapse. But he
cites the public's outrage at the U.S. government's lack of
empathy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a significant
shift in perspective–one that helped Barack Obama become
elected and ushered in what may well become an Age of Empathy. Through a better understanding of empathy's survival value
in evolution, de Waal suggests, we can work together toward
a more just society based on a more generous and accurate
view of human nature.Written in layman's prose with a wealth
of anecdotes, wry humor, and incisive intelligence, The Age
of Empathy is essential reading for our embattled times.
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