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.

In [this] original and engaging new book...de Waal makes a strong case that the four ingredients of morality--empathy/sympathy, sharing or reciprocity, justice/rules and peacemaking/reconciliation--are very much evident in other mammals...The book employs a solid core of statistical evidence to bolster his case, but what makes his argument so compelling is the richness of detail...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...This work is...penetrating and profound.

A large and entertaining collection of anecdotes about animal behaviour. These are used to bolster the proposition that mental processes governing complex forms of human behaviour, such as sympathy and empathy with others, must have their homologues in the animal kingdom...[This book] is extremely well written and very entertaining.

As a book of ideas...this is excellent and on the whole I am inclined to believe de Waal's case for the antecedents of our own morality in other species, Perhaps most interestingly, however, is that the domain hitherto of philosophers is now being contested by evolutionary biologists. Not only does this tighten up the terms of the debate (as did ape language research for linguistics), but ironically it injects a special kind of humanism that recognises the origins of our moral failings as well as our successes.

[A] well-written, provocative book.

[Good Natured] is a tour de forceand a landmark in the growing field of cognitive ethology....[It] is an example of the very best in popular science writing. De Waal skilfully weaves together anecdotes, theories and data to create a text that is thought-provoking and a pleasure to read.

A sparkling master work...de Waal...is perhaps the most literate, entertaining, and soulful of the cognitive ethologists...In Good Natured, [he] takes his humanizing project a step further, employing the rich lexicon of human moral concepts as figures of speech to depict and lend meaning to the behavior of nonhuman animals...[A] provocative, endearing, and brilliantly written book.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [256]-279) and index.

Frans B. M. de Waalis C. H. Candler Professor of Primate Behavior in the Psychology Department and Director of <>Living Links, part of the Yerkes Primate Center, <>Emory University.

Prologue

Darwinian Dilemmas

Survival of the Unfittest

Biologicizing Morality

Calvinist Sociobiology

A Broader View

The Invisible Grasping Organ

Ethology and Ethics

Photo Essay: Closeness

Sympathy

Warm Blood in Cold Waters

Special Treatment of the Handicapped

Responses to Injury and Death

Having Broad Nails

The Social Mirror

Lying and Aping Apes

Simian Sympathy

A World without Compassion

Photo Essay: Cognition and Empathy

Rank and Order

A Sense of Social Regularity

The Monkey's Behind

Guilt and Shame

Unruly Youngsters

The Blushing Primate

Two Genders, Two Moralities?

Umbilical versus Confrontational Bonds

Primus inter Pares

Quid pro Quo

The Less-than-Golden Rule

Mobile Meals

At the Circle's Center

A Concept of Giving

Testing for Reciprocity

From Revenge to Justice

Photo Essay: Help from a Friend

Getting Along

The Social Cage

The Relational Model

Peacemaking

Rope Walking

Baboon Testimony

Draining the Behavioral Sink

Community Concern

Photo Essay: War and Peace

Conclusion

What Does It Take to Be Moral?

Floating Pyramids

A Hole in the Head

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

Index