An important and timely message about the biological roots of human kindness.

—Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape

Are 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, bodies, and voices; we've been designed to feel for one another.

De Waal's theory runs counter to the assumption that humans are inherently selfish, which can be seen in the fields of politics, law, and finance, and whichseems to be evidenced by the current greed-driven stock market collapse. But he cites the public's outrage at the U.S. government's lack of empathy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a significant shift in perspective–one that helped Barack Obama become elected and ushered in what may well become an Age of Empathy. Through a better understanding of empathy's survival value in evolution, de Waal suggests, we can work together toward a more just society based on a more generous and accurate view of human nature.

Written in layman's prose with a wealth of anecdotes, wry humor, and incisive intelligence, The Age of Empathy is essential reading for our embattled times.

From the Hardcover edition.

作者簡介

弗朗斯•德瓦爾

荷蘭著名的心理學傢、動物學傢和生態學傢，現為美國艾默裏大學靈長類動物行為學教授，1993年當選為荷蘭皇傢藝術與科學院院士，之後相繼入選美國國傢科學院院士及美國藝術與科學院院士，2007年被美國《時代》周刊選為當今世界具有巨大影響的百位世界文化名人，以及目 前在世的全球最偉大的十幾個科學傢之一，主要著作有《黑猩猩的政治》、《類人猿與壽司大師》、《靈長類動物如何謀求和平》以及《人類的猿性》等。

譯者簡介

劉暘

筆名桔子幫小幫主，本科畢業於北京大學，後在芝加哥大學取得細胞生物學博士學位，有譯作《永生的海拉》、《迪士尼兒童百科全書：綠色植物》，為《當彩色的聲音嘗起來是甜的》、《一百種尾巴或一韆張葉子》、《冷浪漫》作者之一，科學鬆鼠會成員，曾擔任果殼網科學星探和策劃，組織過科學與藝術的跨界活動，目前的工作領域為在綫教育和女性健康産品開發。