Since altruism, empathy, and gratitude all underpin moral behavior, finding them in our fellow mammals suggests that they run deep in our brain biology and did not come about because of moral reasoning or religion. These examples of animal empathy may be contingent on the presence of mirror neurons in the animals’ brains-the same neurons found in human brains that are implicated in emotional resonance-which help the animals understand how another is feeling. In another instance a bonobo named Makali is kindly consoled by fellow bonobos following a rival attack. For example, Georgia, a chimp at the Yerkes National Primate Research Station, expresses gratitude to deWaal by greeting him with quick panting noises, “which is about the kindest sounds a chimp can make,” after he helps reunite her with her troop following a long separation. “To recognize the need of others, and react appropriately, is really not the same as a preprogrammed tendency to sacrifice oneself for the genetic good.”ĭe Waal also engages readers with stories of individual primates who have demonstrated a capacity for kindness, generosity, and gratitude. “Mammals have what I call an ‘altruistic impulse’ in that they respond to signs of distress in others and feel an urge to improve their situation,” writes de Waal. Experiments like these show that animals make moral choices and that their behavior cannot be explained through natural selection alone. In another experiment with rats, researchers find that if a rat is given the choice between two containers-one holding chocolate and one holding a trapped rat who appears to be suffering-the rat will try to help the suffering rat first before seeking the chocolate.
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