We have a tendency to describe the human condition in lofty terms, such as a quest for freedom or striving for a virtuous life, but the life sciences hold a more mundane view: Its all about security, social companionships, and a full belly. There is obvious tension between both views, which recalls that famous dinner conversation between a Russian literary critic and the writer Ivan Turgenev: 'We havent yet solved the problem of God,' the critic yelled, 'and you want to eat!

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About Frans de Waal

Frans de Waal was a 20th-century Dutch primatologist and ethologist. Franciscus Bernardus Maria de Waal was a Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist. He was the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, director of the Living Links Center at the Emory National Primate Research Center, and author of numerous books including Chimpanzee Politics (1982) and Our Inner Ape (2005). Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Science — Discovery, inquiry, and the wonders of the natural world

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