Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves

Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves PDF Author: Frans de Waal
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635074
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
New York Times best-selling author and primatologist Frans de Waal explores the fascinating world of animal and human emotions. Frans de Waal has spent four decades at the forefront of animal research. Following up on the best-selling Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, which investigated animal intelligence, Mama’s Last Hug delivers a fascinating exploration of the rich emotional lives of animals. Mama’s Last Hug begins with the death of Mama, a chimpanzee matriarch who formed a deep bond with biologist Jan van Hooff. When Mama was dying, van Hooff took the unusual step of visiting her in her night cage for a last hug. Their goodbyes were filmed and went viral. Millions of people were deeply moved by the way Mama embraced the professor, welcoming him with a big smile while reassuring him by patting his neck, in a gesture often considered typically human but that is in fact common to all primates. This story and others like it form the core of de Waal’s argument, showing that humans are not the only species with the capacity for love, hate, fear, shame, guilt, joy, disgust, and empathy. De Waal discusses facial expressions, the emotions behind human politics, the illusion of free will, animal sentience, and, of course, Mama’s life and death. The message is one of continuity between us and other species, such as the radical proposal that emotions are like organs: we don’t have a single organ that other animals don’t have, and the same is true for our emotions. Mama’s Last Hug opens our hearts and minds to the many ways in which humans and other animals are connected, transforming how we view the living world around us.

Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves

Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves PDF Author: Frans de Waal
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393635074
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
New York Times best-selling author and primatologist Frans de Waal explores the fascinating world of animal and human emotions. Frans de Waal has spent four decades at the forefront of animal research. Following up on the best-selling Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, which investigated animal intelligence, Mama’s Last Hug delivers a fascinating exploration of the rich emotional lives of animals. Mama’s Last Hug begins with the death of Mama, a chimpanzee matriarch who formed a deep bond with biologist Jan van Hooff. When Mama was dying, van Hooff took the unusual step of visiting her in her night cage for a last hug. Their goodbyes were filmed and went viral. Millions of people were deeply moved by the way Mama embraced the professor, welcoming him with a big smile while reassuring him by patting his neck, in a gesture often considered typically human but that is in fact common to all primates. This story and others like it form the core of de Waal’s argument, showing that humans are not the only species with the capacity for love, hate, fear, shame, guilt, joy, disgust, and empathy. De Waal discusses facial expressions, the emotions behind human politics, the illusion of free will, animal sentience, and, of course, Mama’s life and death. The message is one of continuity between us and other species, such as the radical proposal that emotions are like organs: we don’t have a single organ that other animals don’t have, and the same is true for our emotions. Mama’s Last Hug opens our hearts and minds to the many ways in which humans and other animals are connected, transforming how we view the living world around us.

Good Natured

Good Natured PDF Author: Frans B. M. DE WAAL
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674033175
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
To observe a dog's guilty look. to witness a gorilla's self-sacrifice for a wounded mate, to watch an elephant herd's communal effort on behalf of a stranded calf--to catch animals in certain acts is to wonder what moves them. Might there he a code of ethics in the animal kingdom? Must an animal be human to he humane? In this provocative book, a renowned scientist takes on those who have declared ethics uniquely human Making a compelling case for a morality grounded in biology, he shows how ethical behavior is as much a matter of evolution as any other trait, in humans and animals alike. World famous for his brilliant descriptions of Machiavellian power plays among chimpanzees-the nastier side of animal life--Frans de Waal here contends that animals have a nice side as well. Making his case through vivid anecdotes drawn from his work with apes and monkeys and holstered by the intriguing, voluminous data from his and others' ongoing research, de Waal shows us that many of the building blocks of morality are natural: they can he observed in other animals. Through his eyes, we see how not just primates but all kinds of animals, from marine mammals to dogs, respond to social rules, help each other, share food, resolve conflict to mutual satisfaction, even develop a crude sense of justice and fairness. Natural selection may be harsh, but it has produced highly successful species that survive through cooperation and mutual assistance. De Waal identifies this paradox as the key to an evolutionary account of morality, and demonstrates that human morality could never have developed without the foundation of fellow feeling our species shares with other animals. As his work makes clear, a morality grounded in biology leads to an entirely different conception of what it means to he human--and humane.

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? PDF Author: Frans de Waal
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393246191
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
A New York Times bestseller: "A passionate and convincing case for the sophistication of nonhuman minds." —Alison Gopnik, The Atlantic Hailed as a classic, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? explores the oddities and complexities of animal cognition—in crows, dolphins, parrots, sheep, wasps, bats, chimpanzees, and bonobos—to reveal how smart animals really are, and how we’ve underestimated their abilities for too long. Did you know that octopuses use coconut shells as tools, that elephants classify humans by gender and language, and that there is a young male chimpanzee at Kyoto University whose flash memory puts that of humans to shame? Fascinating, entertaining, and deeply informed, de Waal’s landmark work will convince you to rethink everything you thought you knew about animal—and human—intelligence.

Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist PDF Author: Frans de Waal
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324007117
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 515

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Book Description
“Every new book by Frans de Waal is a cause for excitement, and this one is no different. A breath of fresh air in the cramped debate about the differences between men and women. Fascinating, nuanced, and very timely.” —Rutger Bregman, author of Humankind: A Hopeful History In Different, world-renowned primatologist Frans de Waal draws on decades of observation and studies of both human and animal behavior to argue that despite the linkage between gender and biological sex, biology does not automatically support the traditional gender roles in human societies. While humans and other primates do share some behavioral differences, biology offers no justification for existing gender inequalities. Using chimpanzees and bonobos to illustrate this point—two ape relatives that are genetically equally close to humans—de Waal challenges widely held beliefs about masculinity and femininity, and common assumptions about authority, leadership, cooperation, competition, filial bonds, and sexual behavior. Chimpanzees are male-dominated and violent, while bonobos are female-dominated and peaceful. In both species, political power needs to be distinguished from physical dominance. Power is not limited to the males, and both sexes show true leadership capacities. Different is a fresh and thought-provoking approach to the long-running debate about the balance between nature and nurture, and where sex and gender roles fit in. De Waal peppers his discussion with details from his own life—a Dutch childhood in a family of six boys, his marriage to a French woman with a different orientation toward gender, and decades of academic turf wars over outdated scientific theories that have proven hard to dislodge from public discourse. He discusses sexual orientation, gender identity, and the limitations of the gender binary, exceptions to which are also found in other primates. With humor, clarity, and compassion, Different seeks to broaden the conversation about human gender dynamics by promoting an inclusive model that embraces differences, rather than negating them.

Every Creature Has a Story

Every Creature Has a Story PDF Author: Janaki Lenin
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9353577071
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
We are surrounded by an astounding variety of lifeforms. Over millennia, they have evolved to exploit unique niches, in the process developing features and skills that set them apart.Have you ever wondered what price the giraffe pays for its long neck? The neck increases its blood pressure to pump blood up to its brain, which endangers its life every time it bends down to drink. Or have you thought about how female nightingales decide which male will share the burdens of parenthood with them? They listen to prospective candidates' songs to gauge if they'd make good fathers. And did you know that glassfrogs pee on their eggs and the gender of bearded dragons is fixed by sex chromosomes or temperature?In Every Creature Has a Story, Janaki Lenin draws us towards the wonders of the natural world in evocative and witty words. She uncovers the surprising, sometimes bizarre but always amazing ways in which creatures breed and survive, from spiders salivating during sex and snails entombing their parasites into their shells to elephants developing immunity to cancer. After reading this book, you'll never look at nature in the same way again.

Chimpanzee Politics

Chimpanzee Politics PDF Author: Frans B. M. Waal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780801838330
Category : Chimpanzees
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
"Precise but eminently readable and indeed exciting... This excellent book achieves the dual goal which eludes so many writers about animal behavior -- it will both fascinate the non-specialist and be seen as an important contribution to science." -- Times Literary Supplement

Our Wild Calling

Our Wild Calling PDF Author: Richard Louv
Publisher: Algonquin Books
ISBN: 1643750844
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
“A book that offers hope.” —The New York Times Book Review “A wondrous tapestry.” —Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel Audubon Medal winner Richard Louv’s landmark book Last Child in the Woods inspired an international movement to connect children and nature. Now he redefines the future of human-animal coexistence. In Our Wild Calling, Louv interviews researchers, theologians, wildlife experts, indigenous healers, psychologists, and others to show how people are connecting with animals in ancient and new ways, and how this serves as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness; how dogs can teach children ethical behavior; how animal-assisted therapy may yet transform the mental health field; and what role the human-animal relationship plays in our spiritual health. He reports on wildlife relocation and on how the growing populations of wild species in urban areas are blurring the lines between domestic and wild animals. Our Wild Calling makes the case for protecting, promoting, and creating a sustainable and shared habitat for all creatures—not out of fear, but out of love. Includes a new interview with the author, discussion questions, and a resource guide.

The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates

The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates PDF Author: Henry Cabot Lodge (Jr.)
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393073777
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of evolution.

Beyond Words

Beyond Words PDF Author: Carl Safina
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0805098887
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Hailed conservationist Carl Safina examines animal personhood as told through the inspired narrative portraits of elephants, wolves, and dolphins

Abigail's Spirit Animal

Abigail's Spirit Animal PDF Author: Kelly Coulson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781736197806
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Abigail's Spirit Animal will take you and your children on a spiritual journey through nature. Abigail is in search of the animal that is a part of her spirit. Little does she know that each animal she comes across is already a part of who she is. After her discussions with many of the forest creatures, Abigail finds that her spirit animal has been with her the whole time. This book has been created based off of the positive affirmation, "I am that, I am." These are the words that God uses to describe himself to Moses in the spiritual literature of the Torah. This is a powerful affirmation that one should use daily and Abigail's Spirit Animal introduces the significance of the words, " I am that, I am, " to our children. This affirmation will change their lives as they choose to use this affirmation in their daily lives. I bring this book to you and to your children so that you are all aware that, you are here and you are a part of everything and in turn everything is a part of you. Blessings.