Primatologist Offers Charming Examples of Animals Expressing Morals Such as Fairness and Empathy

During a 2011 TED Talk, renowned primatologist Frans de Waal spoke at great length regarding the subject of animals having morals that seem so specific to humanity. In doing so, de Waal offered up a couple of charming examples of such as he’d seen with elephants, chimps and apes, each of whom showed varying degrees of one and/or each of these features, particularly regarding cooperation with one another, empathy for others and reciprocity to ensure everything is fair.

Empathy, cooperation, fairness and reciprocity — caring about the well-being of others seems like a very human trait. But Frans de Waal shares some surprising videos of behavioral tests, on primates and other mammals, that show how many of these moral traits all of us share.

More recently, de Waal commented on a rare interspecies rescue which employed empathy, fairness and cooperation.

via TED Talks