|
Product Description
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.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?
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. 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 perhaps could 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.
"An important and timely message about the biological roots of human kindness."—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
- Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals
- Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved (Princeton Science Library)
- Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are
- Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves
- Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
- The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates
- Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil
- Breaking Through Power: It's Easier Than We Think (City Lights Open Media)
- Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion
- Theories of Personality
*If this is not the "The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society" product you were looking for, you can check the other results by clicking this link. Details were last updated on Nov 3, 2024 04:02 +08.