Frans de Waal

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frans de Waal (2005)

Fransiscus Bernardus Maria "Frans" de Waal (born October 29, 1948 in 's-Hertogenbosch ) is a Dutch primatologist and behavioral scientist who has been working specifically with chimpanzees and bonobos , but also with macaques , capuchin monkeys , elephants and since the early 1970s Cichlids .

Life

Frans de Waal studied biology , especially ethology , in Nijmegen and Groningen from 1966 to 1973 , and obtained his doctorate in biology at the University of Utrecht in 1977 , where he worked as a research assistant in the laboratory for comparative physiology at Burgers' Zoo , Arnhem, until 1981 . was active. He then moved to the USA, where he initially worked as a visiting student and from 1982 as a research assistant at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center (WRPRC), Madison. From 1988 he was a professor of behavioral research at the Biological Faculty of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee . In 1990 he was appointed professor of psychobiology at the Faculty of Psychology at Emory University ( Atlanta ) . Since 1991, he is also director of the Living Links Center , a center for the study of the evolution of apes and humans in the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Frans de Waal is also known in Germany through numerous popular scientific book publications on the behavior of great apes. In 2007 he was also named 79th in the list of the most influential people of the year by the US American magazine Time .

Research area

The focus of de Waal's work lies in researching the animal and human development of culture , morals and the emergence of empathy and altruism as one of the foundations of socialization within groups and in particular the special aspects of human incarnation that arise from it later. De Waal assumes that the emergence of morality and culture are not purely human achievements and therefore must have increasingly developed in the animal kingdom. De Waal sees morality as an evolutionary process that was created in order to develop social norms among one another and thereby obtain the ability to develop conflict resolution strategies and mechanisms for mutual help in socialized groups.

De Waal's first studies at Arnhem Zoo in the 1980s looked at the social behavior of chimpanzees . De Waal found that monkeys are linked by strong social bonds within the group and that individuals form strong emotional bonds with one another, but also that monkeys “trick, lie and cheat one another”. De Waal summarized his early research results in the popular science publication "Wild Diplomats".

In further studies de Waal dealt with the social behavior of orangutans , bonobos and gorillas . De Waal showed that in all great apes moral behaviors such as "Help" and "goodness" occur and concludes is that social behaviors with the evolution have emerged since it the individual had introduced and the group the maximum benefit. The more monkeys help each other, the better it is for the community. De Waal intensively investigated the sexuality of great apes and found great differences here. While sex in chimpanzees almost always has something to do with dominance and submission , the sexuality of bonobos serves to relieve tension in all possible situations and is much more harmonious.

As for the concept of culture as defined by humans, de Waal starts from its own, modified definition.

“Culture is a way of life that is shared by members of a particular group, but not necessarily with members of other groups of the same species. It encompasses knowledge, habits and skills, including underlying tendencies and preferences, that are derived from constant encounter with and learning from others. Wherever systematic differences in knowledge, habits and skills between groups cannot be explained by genetic or ecological factors, they are probably caused by culture. The question of how individuals learn from one another is secondary: all that matters is that they do it. Thus, knowledge, habits and skills that individuals have acquired on their own initiative do not fall under this concept of 'culture'. "

- The monkey and the sushi master

Since the basis of human culture is generally spoken of when it comes to having developed skills that correspond to learning, the use of tools, the use of symbols and signs or the imparting of knowledge, and to then pass these on to the next generations , according to de Waal, it is important to reconsider whether such a separation of human culture and nature can still be viewed as justified in this way.

De Waal's research goes back in particular to approaches that were first applied by the two Japanese primatologists Kinji Imanishi and Junichiro Itani in the 1950s. This approach is therefore also considered to be a separate path in behavioral research, which is influenced by the Far East and which is in contrast to the methodologies used in the 'West'. De Waal - like his Japanese colleagues - starts from a more anthropomorphic view of animal behavior and compares it with that of humans in order to compare, derive and explain evolutionary similarities between humans and animals.

Awards

Fonts (selection)

Book publications
  • Our hairy cousins. Recent experience with chimpanzees . Harnack Verlag, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-88966-001-0
  • Peacemaking among Primates , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1989
    • German: Wild diplomats. Reconciliation and détente in apes and humans , Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-446-16003-5
  • Good natured: the origin of right and wrong in humans and other animals , Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1996, ISBN 0-674-35660-8
    • German: The good monkey. The origin of right and wrong in humans and other animals , dtv, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-423-33057-0
  • Bonobos. The tender great apes . Birkhäuser Verlag , Basel 1998, ISBN 3-7643-5826-2 (together with Frans Lanting)
  • A lovely family. The family life of the great apes . Nymphenburger Verlagbuchhandlung, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-485-01019-7
  • The monkey and the sushi master. The cultural life of animals . Dtv, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-423-34164-5
  • The monkey in us. Why we are how we are . Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-446-20780-5
  • Primates and philosophers. How evolution produced morality . Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-446-23083-5
  • The principle of empathy. What we can learn from nature for a better society . (Orig .: The age of empathy ). Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-446-23657-8
  • Man, the bonobo and the ten commandments . Klett Cotta Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-608-98045-5
  • Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? WW Norton & Co., New York 2016, ISBN 978-0393246186
  • Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves WW Norton & Co., New York 2016, ISBN 978-0393635065
Articles in magazines

The End of Nature Versus Nurture. ( Memento of May 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), in: Scientific American of December 1, 1999, pp. 94-99

Quotes

"Since we descend from a long line of sociable primates, nature has given us a strong need to belong to a group, to live together and work together with conspecifics, and this largely determines our behavior towards our own kind."

“We can show that essential elements of human economic behavior such as reciprocity - rewarding good with good -, fair sharing and cooperation are not limited to our species. They probably developed in other animal species because they offer them the same selection advantages as we do: An individual can obtain an optimum of benefit from another without impairing the common interests that are indispensable for group life. "

See also

Web links

Commons : Frans de Waal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Frans de Waal  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Source of the data: Frans BM de Waal. ( Memento from March 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: hanser.de
  2. ↑ The TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World short portrait, Time from May 3, 2007
  3. ↑ In the chapter "The Sword of the Dragon Slayer - Why Do We Help Others" in * Richard David Precht: Who am I - and if so, how many? A philosophical journey . Goldmann, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-31143-9 . Page 133
  4. ↑ * Frans de Waal: Peacemaking among Primates . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass 1989. German * Frans de Waal: Wild diplomats. Reconciliation and détente policies among apes and humans . Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-446-16003-5 .
  5. ↑ In the chapter "The Sword of the Dragon Slayer - Why Do We Help Others" in * Richard David Precht: Who am I - and if so, how many? A philosophical journey . Goldmann, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-442-31143-9 . de Waal's research is described in detail.
  6. ↑ compare * Frans de Waal: Bonobo Sex and Society The behavior of a close relative challenges assumptions about male supremacy in human evolution . Scientific American, Cambridge, Mass 1995. German * Frans de Waal: The tender apes . Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1998, ISBN 3-7643-5826-2 .
  7. ↑ Frans de Waal: The Monkey and the Sushi Master , 2001
  8. ↑ Frans de Waal: The Monkey and the Sushi Master , 2001
  9. ↑ Faces and Behinds: Chimpanzee Sex Perception. (PDF; 1.3 MB) In: Advanced Science Letters. Volume 1, 2008, pp. 99-103, doi: 10.1166 / asl.2008.006
  10. ↑ a b Animal Business in Spectrum of Science Dossier Fairness, Cooperation, Democracy 5, 2006, p. 73.
personal data
SURNAME Waal, Frans de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waal, Fransiscus Bernardus Maria de (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch zoologist and behaviorist
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH 's-Hertogenbosch