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Frans de Waal

フランス・デ・ヴァール

Frans de Waal

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1948-10-29 （'s-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant, Netherlands）
Died
2024-03-14 （Stone Mountain, Georgia, U.S.） age 75
Nationality
Dutch, American
Languages
Dutch, English
Residence History
Netherlands (born and educated) → United States (Wisconsin; later Atlanta/Emory University)

Career

Occupations
primatologist, ethologist, professor, author, science communicator
Active Years
1975-2024
Affiliations
Emory University (Department of Psychology, C.H. Candler Professor), Yerkes National Primate Research Center (director of Living Links Center), Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Utrecht University (distinguished part-time professor)
Memberships
National Academy of Sciences (Member), Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Corresponding Member), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Member), American Philosophical Society (Member), Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (Foreign Member)
Influenced By
Niko Tinbergen, Jan van Hooff
Influenced
Jessica Flack (doctoral student), Researchers in comparative cognition and animal behavior

Education

Radboud University Nijmegen
Country: Netherlands
Attended as part of early university studies
University of Groningen
Country: Netherlands
Studied at the university (details not specified)
Utrecht University
Biology (ethology)
Degree: 博士（理学）
Period: ～1977
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: Netherlands
PhD (dissertation: "Agonistic interactions and relations among Java-monkeys")

Awards

Doctor Honoris Causa, Université Jean-Monnet-Saint-Étienne
2021
Organization: Université Jean-Monnet-Saint-Étienne
Result: 受賞
PEN / E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
2020
Work: Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
Organization: PEN / E.O. Wilson Foundation
Result: 受賞
Doctor Honoris Causa, Yale University
2018
Organization: Yale University
Result: 授与
NAT Award for the Dissemination of Natural Science
2018
Organization: Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona
Result: 受賞
Doctor Honoris Causa, Radboud University
2017
Organization: Radboud University Nijmegen
Result: 授与
ASP Distinguished Primatologist
2015
Organization: American Society of Primatologists
Result: 受賞
Ig Nobel Prize (Anatomy)
2012
Organization: Improbable Research
Result: 受賞
Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
2010
Organization: Order of the Netherlands Lion
Result: 叙勲
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
2004
Organization: National Academy of Sciences
Result: 選出
Los Angeles Times Book Award (for Peacemaking among Primates)
1989
Work: Peacemaking among Primates
Category: Science and Technology Book Award
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Chimpanzee Politics

1982 non-fiction / primatology

An observational account of power, sex, and social strategies among captive chimpanzees; introduced a Machiavellian perspective to primatology and analyzed social strategies among primates.

powersocial strategycompetition and alliances
Adaptations
  • [documentary] Related documentary: The Family of Chimps
Translations
  • Chimpanzee Politics (various translations exist)

Our Inner Ape

2005 non-fiction / comparative behavior

Compares chimpanzee and bonobo behavior to explore the origins of human aggression, cooperation, and morality in an accessible science book.

empathyorigins of moralitycomparative species analysis
Translations
  • Translated into multiple languages

The Bonobo and the Atheist

2013 non-fiction / ethics

Examines human morality through primatology and argues that moral tendencies can be rooted in natural social instincts rather than solely in religion.

moralityreligion and ethicsevolutionary explanations

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

2016 non-fiction / animal intelligence

Explores animal intelligence and challenges human-centered assumptions about cognition through experiments and case studies.

animal intelligencecognitive sciencecritique of anthropocentrism

Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves

2019 non-fiction / animal emotions

Uses examples from elephants and great apes to argue for the presence of animal emotions and explores what they reveal about human nature.

emotionanimal welfareempathy

Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist

2022 non-fiction / gender studies

Reexamines sex differences and gender from primatological evidence, blending biology and cultural commentary.

genderbiology and culturebehavioral comparison

Bibliography

  • Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist (2022)
  • Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves (2019)
  • Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (2016)
  • The Bonobo and the Atheist (2013)
  • The Age of Empathy (2009)
  • Our Inner Ape (2005)
  • Chimpanzee Politics (1982)
  • Peacemaking among Primates (1989)

Adaptations

  • The Family of Chimps - Dutch documentary based on de Waal's work (details not specified)

Translations of Works

  • Translations of works such as Mama's Last Hug exist in multiple languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
accessible popular-science essays combined with rigorous observational reportingclear, evidence-based exposition
Recurring Motifs
empathy and cooperationcompetition and reconciliationcontinuity between animals and humansevolutionary origins of morality

Health

  • stomach cancer
    最終期（2024年に死去）
    Died of stomach cancer in March 2024. Reports indicate he continued scholarly activity while facing illness in his final period.

Legacy

De Waal popularized primate social behavior and animal emotions, highlighting continuity between humans and other apes and advancing public and academic discussions about empathy and the evolutionary roots of morality. His books and research had major impact on comparative cognition and animal ethics.

Academic Societies

  • National Academy of Sciences
  • Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society

Archives

  • Materials likely archived at Emory University and associated research centers

In Popular Culture

  • TED talks (e.g. "Moral behavior in animals") and viral video excerpts—especially the capuchin monkey inequity reaction—brought wide public attention.

Quotes

  • We start out postulating sharp boundaries, such as between humans and apes, or between apes and monkeys, but are in fact dealing with sand castles that lose much of their structure when the sea of knowledge washes over them. They turn into hills, leveled ever more, until we are back to where evolutionary theory always leads us: a gently sloping beach.
    Source: The Age of Empathy (2009)

Trivia

  • Became a U.S. citizen in 2008.
  • Coined or popularized the term "veneer theory" (2005).
  • A 2012 TED talk excerpt showing capuchin monkeys' inequity reaction went viral online.