$3.99 delivery May 31 - June 1. Details

Or fastest delivery May 25 - 31. Details

Only 1 left in stock - order soon

[{"displayPrice":"$23.96","priceAmount":23.96,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"96","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"RhN6iRprWANEl9h92SRHkO5d2ysOPn0g%2FpTcb9l41pcYtQK7QjZWk4FshuPF97EoueJuuRsLf5dtn%2FNwzaTpokmEj08xWEeQ0e9hYiaISTNc7DdK90%2FQi2zk4u8vjYaJjie4j85uBisRdr6LMBqkuDIYKkFXmrHxPNRdy1O029c8N%2FPp5ghlmrVLcpa1LrKX","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$9.98","priceAmount":9.98,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"98","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"RhN6iRprWANEl9h92SRHkO5d2ysOPn0gI0BKrygsLYA897eTlLg%2Fdtp3JGZfimSuJo%2B5rLCMZv0lR4%2BhOnbpZp8vT2SB4gFUe63KCPRUCUGQXmpK%2BA73mm0cctz1ljrcvYKGDebcO1DIS4Z9iAxBKCCu%2BL4UqsMLuEPLDnHTNUla5%2Ft5GQOZ5ddVoLAk8RU4","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$23.96 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Payment

Secure transaction

Ships from

Jazzyseller

Sold by

Jazzyseller

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Details

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Ships from

Jazzyseller

Sold by

Jazzyseller

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.

Read full return policy

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Sunday, May 28 on orders shipped by Amazon over $25

Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 24. Order within 21 hrs 25 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by Janinas_Books

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$27.96
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Fun with Books and Board Games

Added

Not added

$24.99
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: Textbooks by John

Added

Not added

$34.00
& FREE Shipping. Details

Sold by: Bgraybrand

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Frans De Waal

Our Inner Ape Hardcover – October 6, 2005

by Frans de Waal (Author)

4.5 233 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$11.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$23.96

$1.35

Paperback, Illustrated

"Please retry"

$16.00

$5.96

$1.33

MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged

"Please retry"

—

$14.95

$9.97

Kindle
$11.99 Read with Our Free App
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial
Hardcover
$23.96

45 Used from $1.35 7 New from $23.96
Paperback
$7.40 - $16.00

60 Used from $1.33 12 New from $5.96
MP3 CD
$9.97

1 Used from $9.97 1 New from $14.95

Purchase options and add-ons

Visit the author's Web site at www.ourinnerape.com

It’s no secret that humans and apes share a host of traits, from the tribal communities we form to our irrepressible curiosity. We have a common ancestor, scientists tell us, so it’s natural that we act alike. But not all of these parallels are so appealing: the chimpanzee, for example, can be as vicious and manipulative as any human.

Yet there’s more to our shared primate heritage than just our violent streak. 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 them 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 people have of Darwinian evolution. It’s plain that our finest qualities run deeper in our DNA than experts have previously thought.

Frans de Waal has spent the last two decades studying our closest primate relations, and his observations of each species in Our Inner Ape encompass the spectrum of human behavior. This is an audacious book, an engrossing discourse that proposes thought-provoking and sometimes shocking connections among chimps, bonobos, and those most paradoxical of apes, human beings.

Print length

274 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Riverhead Books
Publication date

October 6, 2005
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

6.5 x 0.75 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

1573223123
ISBN-13

978-1573223126
See all details

Bought Together

Frequently bought together

$34.00

Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 30

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by Bgraybrand and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.

+

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

$15.99

Get it as soon as Sunday, May 28

Only 14 left in stock (more on the way).

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

One of these items ships sooner than the other.

Show details Hide details

Choose items to buy together.

Lowest Pricein this set of products
Frans de Waal
1,786
Paperback
$10.26
Highest ratedin this set of products
Jane Goodall
415
Paperback
$14.59
This item:
Frans de Waal
233
Hardcover
$34.00
Frans de Waal
285
Paperback
$26.28
Frans de Waal
1,083
Paperback
$14.95
Frans de Waal
752
Paperback
$13.29
Frans de Waal
178
Hardcover
$25.50
Frans de Waal
226
Paperback
$17.00
Frans de Waal
92
Paperback
$10.99
John C. Mitani
17
Paperback
$48.19

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Power, sex, violence and kindness: these four broad-spectrum categories encompass much of human behavior, so it's only fitting that they're also the primary subject material for Frans de Waal's (The Ape and The Sushi Master) book Our Inner Ape. The few (but deeply detailed) chapters are a mesmerizing read that spans biology, child psychology, postmodern theorists and fundamental morality, using tales of stern chimps, and sexy bonobos to examine humans' place between them. In the process, he examines why we need to know our place in the world, how our body language communicates feelings, and where the roots of empathy lie in mammalian life.

De Waal's respect for both his readers and his research subjects come shining through in the simple clarity he uses when describing both the endless sex of bonobo apes and the heartrending violence occasionally present in chimp hierarchal structure. By illustrating his points with a mixture of straight-from-research experiences and jokes at the expense of modern politicians, he keeps his ideas compelling for anyone with a basic understanding of evolutionary science without drifting towards the academic drone that could be expected of by a researcher of his experience.

You won't find specific conclusions concerning human nature, but instead a gentle, almost rambling look at two primate species with vastly different social networks and how, perhaps, humanity can learn from each to our benefit. A few of de Waal's lovely duotone photos (My Family Album: 30 Years of Primate Photography grace the end of the book, featuring close-up shots of the folks he's been writing about--chimps like Yeroen, Nikkie and Mama, and bonobo Kuif and adopted daughter Roosje are downright thrilling to see after reading such interesting stories about their lives. Jill Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Noted primatologist de Waal (Chimpanzee Politics) thinks human behavior cannot be fully explained by selfish genes and Darwinian competition. Drawing on his own primate research on chimpanzees and bonobos—our closest animal relatives—he shows how much we can learn from them about ourselves: our qualities of "fellow feeling and empathy" as well as our power-obsessed, violent side. We are "bipolar apes," de Waal says, as much like bonobos as like chimps. The latter are known for their viciousness and "red in tooth and claw" social politics, but bonobos offer a radically different social model, one of peace and hedonistic orgies; de Waal offers vivid, often delightful stories of politics, sex, violence and kindness in the ape communities he has studied to illustrate such questions as why we are irreverent toward the powerful and whether men or women are better at conflict resolution. Readers might be surprised at how much these apes and their stories resonate with their own lives, and may well be left with an urge to spend a few hours watching primates themselves at the local zoo.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Scientific American

No man is an island. In fact, people are less happy and healthy alone than when they are in a group--of kin, of countrymen or indeed of anybody with whom they can identify, however fleetingly. But tribes are tricky, at once so solid and yet so evanescent--je suis Marxiste, runs the apocryphal French graffito, tendance Groucho. We switch allegiance from one Thousand-Year Reich to another at the drop of the hat. At the dictates of some distant demagogue, your good neighbor can become a deadly foe. On July 7, 2005, suicide bombers blew themselves up on three London subway trains and a bus, killing themselves and more than 50 other people in the cause of radical Islam. The abiding horror is that the bombers were not foreign insurgents--Them--but were British, born and raised; in Margaret Thatcher's defining phrase, One of Us. The crisis of tribal identity that the horror unleashed will, eventually, change the characteristics of what we mean by "Britishness," qualifying the laissez-faire multicultural consensus that has held for the past half a century. Such is the mutability of tribes, entities forever changing with reference to one another, and the protean subject of David Berreby's brave book. Berreby's quest is to understand what he sees as a fundamental human urge to classify and identify with "human kinds." We project this urge onto what we see. Are races and human kinds real? The fact that they change all the time, and we can switch from one to another so easily, suggests not. Instead, Berreby says, our ideas of the "human-kind code" are based "on facts about how we relate to [other] people at the moment we categorize them--what we want, or expect, or fear from them." Having an inbuilt facility to distinguish between Us and Them was a valuable resource, related to that essential ability to create artificial groupings from what, to a robot, would be entirely distinct objects. We take this talent for granted, but what would life be like if we lacked it: if we were like Funes, the cripple created by Jorge Luis Borges in his story Funes the Memorious--a man with mental recall so powerful that he could not stand back and objectify what he saw? Funes saw each dog, each leaf, each cloud as sui generis: his inability to form categories left him utterly unable to make sense of the world. This vital trick serves us well. But when applied to people, it can cause problems, especially when different kinds of people are all mixed up together, as they are in London, one of the most polyglot cities on the planet. The current crisis swirling around Islam and Britishness, what some see as a symptom of the imminent failure of the multicultural consensus, could have been predicted by the fate of the "contact" hypothesis, in which prejudice is meant to be weakened by familiarity. That foreign-looking man in the hooded jacket will be less threatening if you know he's just Bernie from next door. Most scholars now think, Berreby says, that the contact hypothesis is a muddle: "Actual contact sometimes makes people more prejudiced. On many American college campuses ... the emphasis on di?versity has led students to join one of these diverse human kinds and shun much contact with the others." Bernie could be your friend for life--or your worst enemy. Do we remain forever prey to our irrepressible urges to classify, to create outcasts, Untermenschen, untouchables? Because "human kinds" are epiphenomena, results of unspoken contracts between fickle human minds and changeful reality, we can rise above them. "Human kinds exist because of human minds," Berreby concludes. "But how you choose to live with them is up to you." We can actively choose the kinds we want, for evil or for good. Since the bombings, London mayor Ken Livingstone has had posters put up all over the city promoting our unity. "Seven Million Londoners," it reads, "Only One London." Livingstone, like Margaret Thatcher at the opposite end of the political spectrum, is a consummate politician who knows how to play on our instincts. In times of universal crisis and brouhaha, what we really need is a sense of perspective. Our Inner Ape, written by a scientist with a lifetime's experience around apes, is perhaps the most humane treatment of the human condition you can read, for all that it is mostly about chimpanzees. So-called common (but extremely rare) chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) live in male-dominated societies characterized by shifting allegiances and extreme violence. So far, so Berreby. Their close cousins, the even less frequent pygmy chimps, or bonobos (P. paniscus), live in matriarchal societies where the stress is on reconciliation, all anxieties smoothed over by liberal applications of sex, in all possible combinations. If chimps are from Mars, bonobos are from Venus. Really? It's tempting to see these creatures as cartoon characters, caricatures of ourselves, done up as clowns or, more seriously, as metaphors for the human condition. De Waal plays this up to engage our interest but is at pains not to overdo it. Chimps and bonobos are not Looney Tunes humans; neither are they human ancestors, but creatures with a long evolutionary history of their own, which has provoked its own adaptive responses, its own repertoire of behaviors. Chimps are many things, but they are not One of Us. The essential difference between humans and chimpanzees is that we form nuclear families, whereas chimps, so human in many ways, have no such institution. Although we stray from the path more often than we care to admit, human society is all about the age-old business of boy meets girl and sets up home under a roof, so much so that it explains such things as the size of our testicles, the manifest oddities of the female reproductive system, and why we prefer to have sex in private. At root, we define ourselves with reference to our families and closest kin and work outward from there. But we can learn a great deal more of our own humanity by comparing ourselves with something closely related but still Other. And this, in the final analysis, is the lesson of both books. Tribal allegiance means nothing unless there are other tribes out there against which we can get our measure.

Henry Gee, who lives in London, is a senior editor of Nature and former Regents' Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author of The Science of Middle-earth (Cold Spring Press, 2004) and Jacob's Ladder: The History of the Human Genome (W. W. Norton, 2004).

From Booklist

*Starred Review* In Chimpanzee Politics (1982) and five succeeding books, de Waal has called attention to how close to human Homo sapiens ' closest relatives really are; indeed, the domestic entity referenced by the title of de Waal's photo collection My Family Album (2003) isn't his particular menage; it's that of the chimps and bonobos he has studied and grown to love. As his books have become more complete and general about human-ape resemblances, his prose has become ever clearer and more artful. This book is arguably an even better read than The Ape and the Sushi Master (2001). After a bringing-up-to-speed chapter on such matters as chimp-bonobo distinctions and human-ape shared ancestry, de Waal devotes long chapters to power, sex, violence, and kindness among the apes, and among humans, too. Comparing the three upper primate species, and occasionally certain monkey species, as well, yields illuminating and provocative results because they are all highly social, and the apes share cultural capability with humans. Overall, chimps are more concerned with power and more violent but much less sexy than bonobos, and both apes demonstrate kindness socially to a greater extent than humans do, at least verbally. In conclusion, de Waal turns directly to "The Bipolar Ape"--that is, the human being--and urges learning from the apes how to improve humanity's longtime balancing act between savagery and good fellowship. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Fascinating . . . This important and illuminating book should help our own species take [a] lesson in civility to heart.”—The New York Times Book Review

“An enlightening look at ourselves”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"[An] excellent book . . . This is a rarity, a superb scientist producing an excellent book for non-specialists . . . De Waal covers [his topic] with great wisdom and subtlety . . . This should be required reading for the opinionated cousins (or better yet, world leaders) whose ancient encounters with Robert Ardrey or Konrad Lorenz have led them to believe what kind of ape we are."—Nature

“De Waal demonstrates why he is the current Alpha Male of American primatology. Decades of cutting-edge research on apes (and monkeys too) lend vibrancy to his words, and authority to his conclusions”—BookSlut.com

"De Waal offers vivid, often delightful stories of politics, sex, violence and kindness in the ape communities he has studied . . . Readers might be surprised at how much these apes and their stories resonate with their own lives, and may well be left with an urge to spend a few hours watching primates themselves at the local zoo."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Fascinating and enlightening: It's hard not to conclude that, in many ways, apes may be wiser than their upright relatives."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"For more than a quarter-century Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal has been unlocking the uncanny parallels between [chimp] behavior and our own . . . Our Inner Ape is filled with fascinating examples of how human behavior can be explained by our ape ancestors."—Outside Magazine

"An informative and engaging work."—Library Journal

"De Waal is perhaps the most literate, entertaining, and soulful of the cognitive ethologists."—Los Angeles Times

"De Waal is an original thinker and writes with such a light hand that the reader can take a stimulating ride through his imaginative philosophical discourse."—Boston Globe

"A new book on the human species by de Waal, one of the world's great experts on primate behavior, is an eagerly awaited publishing event. By turning his binoculars on the human species, he provides us with a revealing picture of the inner ape—what lies inside each and every one of us."—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape

"Frans de Waal is uniquely placed to write a book on the duality of human nature and on its biological origins in the other primate species. No other book has attempted to cover this ground. Few topics are as timely to the understanding of the human mind and behavior."—Antonio R. Damasio, author of Descartes' Error

"One of the important disciplines that is generating new knowledge about human nature is primatology. Frans de Waal is the best-qualified scientist not just to describe the results of this research, but to draw out a balanced understanding of what it implies about contemporary politics and social policy."—Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man

About the Author

Frans de Waal, Ph.D., is the author of five previous books, which have been translated into fourteen languages, including The Ape and the Sushi Master, a New York Times Notable Book, and Peacemaking Among Primates, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NATO, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Geographic Society, among others. De Waal is currently C. H. Candler Professor in the Psychology Department of Emory University and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes Primate Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; First Edition (October 6, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1573223123
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1573223126
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.75 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #392,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #42 in Primatology
- #1,266 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- #2,031 in Behavioral Sciences (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 233 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Frans De Waal

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I am a Dutch/American biologist, born in 1948 in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. I have lived in the USA since 1981.

My passion is primate behavior, and the comparison between primate and human behavior. I pursue the first as a scientist and the second as the author of popular science books. For me, there is nothing more logical than to look at human society through the lens of animal behavior. I have a Ph. D. in biology and ethology (the study of animal behavior) from the University of Utrecht.

My first book, "Chimpanzee Politics" (1982), compared the schmoozing and scheming of chimpanzees involved in power struggles with that of human politicians. The book was put on the reading list of congress in Washington. Ever since, I have drawn parallels between primate and human behavior, from aggression to morality and culture.

Gender differences are a logical subject for a primatologist since the gender debate always turns around. the interaction between nature and nurture. Despite attempts to separate gender from biology, as if it were purely a human construct, the reason we have a gender duality is that our species has two sexes to begin with. I agree that the sexual binary is a mere approximation (even at the biological level, it has exceptions and intermediates), but still, the way the sexes differ in other primates tells us something about ourselves.

My latest book "Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist" (Norton, 2022) compares sex differences in three closely related species: humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos. It tries to dispel the idea that only humans have genders and that only we have gender diversity. Other primates, too, adopt sex-typical behavior from watching others, hence have genders. They show the same array of gender expressions celebrated under the LGBTQ flag. My book pays attention to non-conforming individuals as well as homosexual behavior among the primates.

Since childhood, I have been an animal lover, and in fact -- even though my career has focused on primate behavior -- I am interested in all sorts of animals, including fish and birds, but also elephants and dolphins. My book on animal intelligence -- "Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?" (Norton, 2016) -- reflects this broader interest, as it covers a wide range of species.

My wife, Catherine, and I live in a forested area near Smoke Rise, in Georgia, a state we love. I retired from my position at Emory University in 2019, right before the Covid crisis. I am still involved in primate studies, mainly at sanctuaries for great apes in Africa, but mostly devote my time to reading, writing, and touring to give lectures.

I am a member of the National Academy of Sciences as well as of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2007, Time declared me one of The Worlds’ 100 Most Influential People Today.

My books have been translated into over twenty languages, appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, and received awards, such as:

• The 2020 PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award for "Mama’s Last Hug"

• The 1989 Los Angeles Times Book Award for "Peacemaking among Primates"

More on my background on the following website:

https://www.emory.edu/LIVING_LINKS/bonobo_atheist/author1.shtml

My public Facebook page with 750K followers announces upcoming lectures:

https://www.facebook.com/franspublic/

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

233 global ratings

5 star		73%
4 star		14%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Dg. Batt

Utterly Brilliant but needed more stupidity

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

This is more a comment following reading this remarkable book than a thorough review, I don't have much to add to the other positive reviews of this remarkable book, often invaluable insights, clearly and accessibly written, often funny, perhaps the most constructive book so far this century. Hard to find fault but I think I may have one, he focuses on the polarity between our "nice" peaceful, egalitarian, cooperative, sharing side & our "nasty" violent, competitive, hierarchical, selfish side, advocating wisely the happy medium or a hybrid of the two is best and most realistic.

But he doesn't say much at all about another major player in human affairs, which is neither "evil" nor "good": plain stupidity. His book was published in 2005, far as I know no one has taken his excellent advice, why? Could be stupidity. He spends so much time trying to point out how apes are as clever as us in many ways it probably wouldn't have worked if he'd also argued man is the stupidest animal ever "the only animal that can't tell fantasy from reality" as the bestselling shrink Dr Al Bernstein put it ( he also states, again somewhat humorously, we are likely to oppose or dismiss evidence, no matter how strong, that we might not be perfect unless we are depressed, a bit of a problem for the truth, it's interesting many (most?) of the great philosophers suffered depression) .

So what is human stupidity? Not sure, probably partly the need for males to be rather oblivious/attracted to danger in order to hunt, explore etc in early societies which he talks about. It's not clear being rather indifferent to your and others welfare is still beneficial in modern society. This indifference is probably achieved at least partly through an ability to focus exclusively on one small aspect of a situation (such as "the kill" in a hunt) a stereotyped male trait (women "multi-taskers"), marked feature of autism (much more common in males as De Waal notes) and a hallmark of industrial society with it's hyper-specialization.

The reason this makes us the stupidest animal is we have magnified our powers to that of gods, through countless innovations and inventions (at least industrial scientific man has, which is virtually everyone now) but by comparison are only slightly smarter than other apes and still unconsciously act on much the same instincts and tendencies (as our economy/environment becomes more desire/addiction based (Thompson. The Fix 2012) we may actually be getting even dumber than other apes in the sense of being more impulsive, despite the rising I.Q. (attributed to increased problem-solving, having more problems is not exactly a clear indication your house is in order)). We bite off far more than we can possibly chew (create problems too big & complicated to be solved with our intelligence & presumably instincts (usually because of narrow focus we think everything's super)) this is unique in the animal kingdom as far as I know, although I understand it is not unusual for a species to be responsible for it's own extinction in other ways. I don't know if there's a solution, the smaller scale, simpler, community units he advocates at the end (modest scale & complexity for our modest intelligence) might help but can we get there from here? Can Humpty be put back together again?

Another variant of stupidity seem to stem from ego, again I seem to have noticed more in us males. Big egos get over confident and think they can do no wrong, result :stupidity. Scientists who invariably want to "change the world" for no absolutely no reason other than to become the alpha male, with reckless, basically autistic (a scientific finding), disregard for the likelihood their invention will just be another nail in the coffin of the planet is just one example (e.g., advances that increase the human population, such as the sacred goal of "a cure for cancer" may contribute to the extinction of our and other species through overpopulation. Or Einstein would be the stupidest person in history so far, as he either didn't realize or didn't care his means of achieving primate dominance would be responsible for the atom bomb) I think this is hierarchy related, a big ego seem to result from thinking you're at the top, might be the rich list, might be delusions about attractiveness, coolness, moral &/or racial superiority.

Also insecurity at being toward the bottom of a hierarchy produces panic which leads to stupid 'thinking' in my opinion. I don't recall if de Waal writes about this, but another primate writer, Mazur, does (Biosociology of Dominance and Deference) noting those low in primate hierarchies are anxious, those higher up are usually calm. In my opinion there is a epidemic of insecurity in modern society, perhaps because the inequality is astronomical with globalism, I think this afflicts us males more as we need to display dominance to attract a mate, a female merely needs to mate with an "alpha" being lower in the hierarchy usually makes a female more attractive..

Balancing hierarchy with more egalitarian institutions as de Waal suggests might go a long way to healing this painful affliction, but it's not clear to me we are smart enough to do anything of the sort & most insecure men probably wouldn't be interested, better to play or watch some game where they can fantasize about being dominant.

I'm not suggesting we are completely stupid at all, just that's a player in our make-up that just could get the last word.........maybe the book has depressed me because it's so balanced, we're as good (depending on your perspective) as we are evil ( according to whatever that perspective happens to be) so why care either way about the fate of humanity? I suppose if you really don't care either way you won't have to suffer depression, you'll be emotionally neutral, like the neutral face people usually wear in public places.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

The Inner Human of Apes

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 22, 2009

Verified Purchase

This is a wonderful synopsis of Frans de Waal's decades of research on chimpanzee and bonobo societies and what it tells us about human evolution. Like Jared Diamond's The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (P.S.) , Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are attempts to answer some of the big questions about humanity and human evolution. Like Diamond's books, this one will change your conception of human evolution and what it means to be human.

In some ways, this book should really be called "The Inner Human of Apes," since the book focuses on the apes more than on humans. Since most readers know about human emotions, this focus makes sense. What makes the book so interesting is that de Waal knows chimps and bonobos so well that he can go beyond the stereotypical images of both species and provide some intimate anecdotes to illustrate his points. In particular, de Waal goes to great lengths to illustrate the entire spectrum of ape emotions and society, including regret, political alliances, jealousy, foresight, reconciliation, and empathy. These emotions, which many once believed to distinguish humans from animals, can clearly be seen in our next of kin.

Some of the anecdotes are so amazing as to make the book worth the purchase price alone. De Waal frequently invokes the political alliance of two male chimpanzees, Nikkie and Yoern. This pair resembled the relationship between a political master and upstart (think John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson). At one point, Nikkie and Yoern got into a fight (as political allies occasionally do), and Nikkie bit Yoern on his leg. In order to make his younger colleague jealous, Yoern would subsequently pretend to limp whenever Nikkie was watching. Talk about seeking a sympathy vote!

By the end of the book, you'll realize that the real issue isn't whether apes feel emotions or engage in society, but whether we can understand their lives. De Waal describes the methodology of some of his experiments, but acknowledges that too often human experiments are designed by a human mind as if for human subjects. For example, one researcher who sought to assess whether chimps could tell faces apart, showed chimps pictures of different humans. When the chimps did not appear to recognize the differences, the researcher assumed they lacked that aspect of intelligence. However, when later researchers showed the chimps the faces of different chimps, the chimps could recognize the differences. Just as we have difficulty telling chimps apart from each other, they find it easier to recognize differences in chimp features than human faces. Thus, as de Waal notes, there are no stupid apes, just stupid experiments.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Amazon Customer

Must Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

Beautifully written. Must read

Emmanuel tamang

Life of apes

Reviewed in India 🇮🇳 on June 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Interesting book,the author take us to various facets of bonobos and chimpanzees life . You will feel like keep reading, it is not heavy stuff which you have to struggle to keep going.
I strongly recommend this book.

Amazon Customer

The title of the book is misleading. This book ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

The title of the book is misleading. This book is more about the apes (namely chimps and bonobos) than humans. The comments about human behavior is mostly very general and self evident. (But I must say the brief discussion on the possible reasons for humans' preference for nucleus family was thought-provoking.) Nevertheless, there are tonnes of interesting anecdotes about ape behavior. Worth reading.

santiago rubio de casas

impresionante reflexión ética

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on May 7, 2013

Verified Purchase

El autor nos hace ver, con rigor pero también con apasionantes anécdotas acumuladas observando chimpanzés y bonobos, la continuidad entre nuestro ser ético y el de los primates "la conciencia ética no surge cómo un acantilado, es más bien cómo la suave pendiente de una playa"

Translate review to English

celdranco

A Good lecture

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

Very well
Documented

See all reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers	6pm Score deals on fashion brands	AbeBooks Books, art & collectibles	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Sell on Amazon Start a Selling Account

Amazon Business Everything For Your Business	Amazon Fresh Groceries & More Right To Your Door	AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally	Home Services Experienced Pros Happiness Guarantee	Amazon Ignite Sell your original Digital Educational Resources	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Listen to Books & Original Audio Performances	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Box Office Mojo Find Movie Box Office Data	ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics	DPReview Digital Photography	Fabric Sewing, Quilting & Knitting

Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	IMDbPro Get Info Entertainment Professionals Need	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Prime Video Direct Video Distribution Made Easy

Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands	Amazon Warehouse Great Deals on Quality Used Products	Whole Foods Market America’s Healthiest Grocery Store	Woot! Deals and Shenanigans	Zappos Shoes & Clothing	Ring Smart Home Security Systems

eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room	Blink Smart Security for Every Home	Neighbors App Real-Time Crime & Safety Alerts	Amazon Subscription Boxes Top subscription boxes – right to your door	PillPack Pharmacy Simplified	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust

Buy new: $23.96$23.96 $3.99 delivery: May 31 - June 1 Ships from: Jazzyseller Sold by: Jazzyseller

Buy used: $9.98

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

Our Inner Ape Hardcover – October 6, 2005

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

What do customers buy after viewing this item?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

From Scientific American

From Booklist

Review

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Frans De Waal

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$23.96

$3.99 delivery: May 31 - June 1

Ships from: Jazzyseller

Sold by: Jazzyseller

Buy used:

$9.98