The Evolution of Morality in Non-Human Primates

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When one group is more peaceful than the other, presumably it's been ruled out in some way that this is genetic. So what are the wrong assumptions that people make about morality and human nature from studying these non-human primates? And what do you think the actual lesson is? I got interested in the evolution of morality because I worked on empathy in the primates.

Frans de Waal is a Dutch-American primatologist and the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Department of Psychology at Emory University. He is the author of, among other books, Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex Among Apes and Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist.

In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Frans de Waal discuss how primate empathy forms the basis for human morality; the precedent for diversity in human gender and gender roles that exists in non-human primates; and why, despite attempts to separate human behavior from human biology, you can’t have one without the other.

This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

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