Frans de Waal - A pioneer who shone a light on the primate mind.

Clay, Zanna

Abstract

Biology has just lost one of its greatest thinkers. An intellectual pioneer and exceptional observer of animals, de Waal inspired us all to think differently about animals as well as ourselves - his far-reaching impact within and beyond biology and psychology cannot be overstated. He was especially known for his ground-breaking work investigating the social minds of our two closest great ape cousins, the chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (P. paniscus), well as other primates. He leaves behind him a rich and varied legacy of research that continues to inspire and push the field forward.

Following the footsteps of the Dutch founding fathers of ethology, de Waal’s work emphasised the principle of evolutionary continuity, whereby closely related species are expected to show similar evolved traits. Given their close phylogenetic relationship, de Waal sought to identify potential commonalities between humans and other primates, and breaking taboos of the time, was prepared to use the same terminologies for traits observed in both. Through his many scientific articles and popular books, de Waal showed us that primates - and other animals - have sophisticated social intelligence and a rich emotional life: they show empathy, cooperate, have sex for fun, reconcile after conflicts, have rich forms of communication, learn socially, engage in reciprocal social interactions, and may even have a sense of fairness. Decades of behaviourism had left most other scientists at the time reticent to attribute human-like traits to other animals. It is thanks to de Waal’s careful observations and intellectual bravery that the continuity between humans and other primates has since come to be accepted into mainstream thinking. De Waal championed the breadth and sophistication of the animal mind and through doing so, effectively downgraded human exceptionalism. It is for this reason he is so loved and respected. In his own words in 2014 “We always end up overestimating the complexity of what we do. That’s how you can sum up my career: I’ve brought apes a little closer to humans but I’ve also brought humans down a bit.” De Waal was never afraid to ask new questions, including those that had been considered off-limits –this courage paved the way for generations of scientists to have the privilege to expand them into new areas within growing field of primatological research.

Citation

Clay, Z. (2024). Frans de Waal - A pioneer who shone a light on the primate mind. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 162, Article 105725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105725

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 13, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 15, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-07
• Deposit Date: Jun 10, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 10, 2024
• Journal: Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
• Print ISSN: 0149-7634
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 162
• Article Number: 105725
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105725
• Keywords: Ethology, Great ape, Chimpanzee, Empathy, Bonobo
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2471650