The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society "An important and timely message about the biological roots of human kindness."—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked ApeAre we our brothers' keepers? Do we have an instinct for compassion?
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| Title | : | The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.98 (260 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0307407772 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2010-09-07 |
| Genre | : |
"An important and timely message about the biological roots of human kindness."—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked ApeAre we our brothers' keepers? Do we have an instinct for compassion? Or are we, as is often assumed, only on earth to serve our own survival and interests? In this thought-provoking book, the acclaimed author of Our Inner Ape examines how empathy comes naturally to a great variety of animals, including humans. By studying social behaviors in animals, such as bonding, the herd instinct, the forming of trusting alliances, expressions of consolation, and conflict resolution, Frans de Waal demonstrates that animals–and humans–are "preprogrammed to reach out." He has found that chimpanzees care for mates that are wounded by leopards, elephants offer "reassuring rumbles" to youngsters in distress, and dolphins support sick companions near the water's surface to prevent them from drowning. From day one humans have innate sensitivities to faces,
Editorial : From Publishers Weekly De Waal (Chimpanzee Politics), a renowned primatologist, culls an astounding volume of research that deflates the human assumption that animals lack the characteristics often referred to as humane. He cites recent animal behavior studies that challenge the primacy of human logic and put animals on a closer behavioral footing with humans. Based on the studies of mammals, from primates to mice, de Waal proposes that empathy is an instinctual behavior exhibited by both lab rats and elephants. But de Waal's aim isn't merely to show that apes are transactional creatures with a basic understanding of reciprocity—but to reveal that the idea that humans are naturally calculating, competitive and violent is grounded in a falsehood willfully and selfishly perpetuated. Throughout the book, de Waal illustrates how behaving more like our wild mammalian cousins may just save humanity. His contention, colored by philosophical musings and fascinating anecdotes of ob
Good info on the antidepressant drugs. In the course of the story, he bashes his American ex-wives at length, blaming everything wrong with his marriages on them. There was the bicycle shop guy wanting to be original and afraid of settling down. One issue I had was that it was difficult to draw a one-to-one correlation and find the security countermeasures to defend against attacks identified earlier. 82-83: "People relying on exercise to burn calories sometimes, without deliberate intent, begin moving less during the rest of the day." Knowing this can help one to guard against it; I will try to keep moving during the non-exercise parts of my day.
Stretching is of dubious benefit. While this book does offer some unique insight into the galaxy of activities and emotions of bipolar people such as myself, it seemed more of a rough outline than a fully fleshed approach to coping with this spasmodic condition of the mind. This book pretends to be a objective look at 'the Big Thre
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