Stories by Frans B. M. de Waal

Bonobos Use Sex to Cool Tempers

Inclined toward gender equality, this close relative of humans substitutes sex for aggression

Evidence Implies That Animals Feel Empathy

We call a callous turncoat a “rat.” Rats and other animals, however, are giving scientists clues to the evolutionary origins of empathy

Frans de Waal on the human primate: Make love, not war

Editor's Note: This post is the last in a four-part series of essays for Scientific America n by primatologist Frans de Waal on human nature, based on his ongoing research.

Frans de Waal on the human primate: Strength is weakness

Editor's Note: This post is the third in a four-part series of essays for Scientific America n by primatologist Frans de Waal on human nature, based on his ongoing research.

Frans de Waal on the human primate: Is it "behavioral sink" or resource distribution?

Editor's Note: This post is the second in a four-part series of essays for Scientific America n by primatologist Frans de Waal on human nature, based on his ongoing research.

Frans de Waal on the human primate: Fair is fair

Editor's Note: This post is the first in a four-part series of essays for Scientific America n by primatologist Frans de Waal on human nature, based on his ongoing research.

Do Animals Feel Empathy?

We call a callous turncoat a "rat." Rats and mice, however, are giving scientists clues to the evolutionary origins of empathy

How Animals Do Business

Humans and Other Animals Share a Heritage of Economic Tendencies--Including Cooperation, Repayment of Favors and Resentment at Being Shortchanged

How Animals Do Business

Humans and other animals share a heritage of economic tendencies--including cooperation, repayment of favors and resentment at being shortchanged

Coping with Crowding

The End of Nature versus Nurture

Is human behavior determined by genetics or by environment? It may be time to abandon the dichotomy

Bonobo Sex and Society

The behavior of a close relative challenges assumptions about male supremacy in human evolution