“Sentimentalising is anathema, as far as I am concerned. It leads you into ethical problems about violence and killing and eating meat. The whole world becomes topsy-survy if you impose moralities that were evolved within human society on what a blowfly or what a parasite does... there are lots of emotions you can deduce from an animal's behaviour that are correct, but when you start saying it's feeling guilty or thinking or a loved one or mourning, you must be very careful of those feelings.” IfsThinkingWorldHumansDoeWholeFeelingsProblemAnimalEmotionViolenceTelevisionMoralityEatingConcernedKillingCarefulWhole WorldGuiltyMeatMourningEthicalLoved OnesBehaviourHuman SocietyParasitesEating MeatFeeling GuiltyAnathema Author:David Attenborough
“If you want to design a successful human society you need to know what kind of animal we are. Are we a social animal or a selfish animal? Do we respond better when we're solitary or living in a group?” IfsKnowsWantNeedsHumansKindSocialAnimalSuccessfulGroupsDesignSelfishSolitaryHuman Society Author:Frans de Waal
“You should know as much as you can about the human species if you have a hand in designing human society. Of course, I'm not saying that you can derive moral rules from nature - that's deriving an ought from an is, as the philosophers say - but you do need to know what kind of animals we are if you want to design a stable society.” IfsKnowsWantNeedsShouldHumansKindHandsAnimalMoralDesignOughtSpeciesPhilosopherStableHuman SocietyHuman Species Author:Frans de Waal