Frans De Waal is a primatologist and philosopher. He dedicated his life to understanding the nature of the human race through observing our closest cousins: great apes.
In "The Bonobo And The Atheist", De Waal wants to decipher the origin of our moral values. Are they a mere outcome of evolution, or did they stem from religious systems? Can we agree with the words of Dmitri in Dostoïevski The Brothers Karamazov that "If God doesn't exist, everything is permitted"?
To answer these questions, De Waal runs experiments on primates' to determine whether or not they are sensitive to fairness, honesty, and other traits that humans possess. If they share a similar moral system to ours, then religion is not a prerequisite for morality.
De Waal draws fascinating parallels between humans and primates. We happen to be not so different from bonobos or chimpanzees, our two closest cousins, with whom we share 98.8% of our DNA.
“No one doubts the superiority of our intellect, but we have no basic wants or needs that are not also present in our close relatives. Just like us, monkeys and apes strive for power, enjoy sex, want security and affection, kill over territory, and value trust and cooperation. Yes, we have computers and airplanes, but our psychological makeup remains that of a social primate.” F De Waal
Interestingly, we share some genes with chimps that we don't share with bonobos, and vice versa.
Bonobos are highly empathetic and sensitive. When one of them sustains a minor injury, he or she will be surrounded by others who come to inspect, lick and groom. When encountering a rival group on disputed territory, they will engage in sexual behavior to avoid a violent confrontation. We share with them spindle cell neurons, involved in self-awareness, empathy, sense of humor, and other human fortes.
Chimpanzees can be cooperative and friendly. Disputes are generally settled without the need for violence. Nevertheless, when conflicts emerge, either within their own group or in territorial disputes with rivals, they can fight to the death. They are much more violent and aggressive than bonobos. Furthermore, their behavior underlines a strong emphasis on social status and dominance.
"Our species shares a mosaic of characteristics with both apes, (...) we are bipolar apes. On our good days, we are as nice as bonobos can be, while on our bad days, we are as domineering and violent as chimps can be."
De Waal's conclusion is straightforward: given our striking similarity to great apes, we can extend our observations of them to humans.
Frans De Waal compellingly demonstrates the existence of morals within apes, challenging traditional notions that moral behavior is exclusive to humans or derived solely from religious teachings.
Through meticulous observation and experimentation, De Waal reveals the ethical sensibilities of our primate relatives. For instance, De Waal shows that primates engage in acts of kindness, consolation, and even reciprocity, indicating an intrinsic understanding of social norms and ethical principles. In one experiment, two chimpanzees are given different rewards for performing the same task. Chimpanzee A is given a sweet grape, and chimp B a bland slice of cucumber. After contemplating the unfairness of the situation for a while, chimp A ends up refusing the reward.
By highlighting these parallels between human and ape behavior, De Waal effectively argues that morality predates religion and is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history as social beings. Moral norms such as fairness favour collaboration within groups of individuals, and eventually higher odds of survival.
That being said, should we reject religion altogether? De Waal shares an interesting perspective on the question.
De Waal believes that atheists should not try to prove religious people wrong. Their belief is not rooted in rationalism, making vain any attempt to reason with them. Religion answers basic human needs of security and belonging to a group.
"Faith is driven by attraction to certain persons, stories, rituals and values. It fulfils emotional needs, such as the need for security and authority and the desire to belong. Theology is secondary and evidence tertiary."
Humans hate uncertainty, religions provide simple, straightforward answers to deep mysteries. Every time scientists unravel one of life's secret, new questions arise, as if they were peeling onion layers, each one being smaller yet more abstract. Albert Einstein believed in Baruch Spinoza's God. Spinoza opposed his vision of an abstract supernatural force tied to nature to the traditional human-like figure of a transcend being.
"The enemy of science is not religion. Religion comes in endless shapes and forms, and there are tons of faithful people with an open mind, who pick and choose only certain parts of their religion and have no issue with science whatsoever. The true enemy is the substitution of thought, reflection, and curiosity with dogma."
The question is not so much is religion is right or wrong according to De Waal, but how it shapes our lives, and what might possibly takes its place if we were to get rid of it the way the Aztec priests ripped the beating heart out of their victims. Freud had an interesting take in his book "The Future of an Illusion" where he discusses religion's roots, evolutions, and its future. According to him, religion can only be replaced with another system sharing its characteristics, but not simply erased.
Looking back at the past, was not the entire communist regime an attempt at a godless society? And did it now follow Freud's prediction to the letter? The movement resembled much religion with its parades, sing-alongs, reciting of pledges, and waving in the air of Little Red Books. Dogmatism, rigidity, and unholy fervor were on full display and grew with the decades, until communism collapsed under its own weight.
Another interesting insight from De Waal's book is that moral values are not universally shared, but differ amongst human societies and periods.
For instance, hunter-gatherers societies revolve around community and sharing, and stress humility and equality. They frown on anyone with a big mouth. Within the African Kun San tribes, hunters cannot mention what they capture to other members of the tribe. If asked about it, they answer "Ah, I'm not good for hunting. Just a little one.", even though they caught some big game. Lamaleran whale hunters, in Indonesia, jump on whales with a harpoon bonded to a flimsy boat where the rest of the crew stands. With entire families tied together around a life-threatening activity, their men being literally in the same boat, distribution of the food bonanza is very much on their mind. Not surprisingly, Lamaleran are very sensitive to fairness.
Western society, in contrast, celebrates individual achievement and permits successful individuals to hold on to their gains. In such an environment, humility can be hazardous.
"If there is such a thing as the moral law, therefore, it is unlikely to be identical everywhere. (...) Our species does possess invariant characteristics, and all of human morality is preoccupied with the two H's of helping and (not) hurting; hence some degree of universality is to be expected. Yet, the details of how fairly resources are divided or how much humility is desirable cannot be captured in a single law."
