{"product_id":"the-age-of-empathy-natures-lessons-for-a-kinder-society-9780307407771","title":"The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn this thought-provoking book, the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eOur Inner Ape\u003c\/i\u003e examines how empathy comes naturally to a great variety of animals, including humans. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAre we our brothers' keepers? Do we have an instinct for compassion? Or are we, as is often assumed, only on earth to serve our own survival and interests? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy studying social behaviors in animals, such as bonding, the herd instinct, the forming of trusting alliances, expressions of consolation, and conflict resolution, Frans de Waal demonstrates that animals-and humans-are \"preprogrammed to reach out.\" He has found that chimpanzees care for mates that are wounded by leopards, elephants offer \"reassuring rumbles\" to youngsters in distress, and dolphins support sick companions near the water's surface to prevent them from drowning. From day one humans have innate sensitivities to faces, bodies, and voices; we've been designed to feel for one another. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDe Waal's theory runs counter to the assumption that humans are inherently selfish, which can be seen in the fields of politics, law, and finance. But he cites the public's outrage at the U.S. government's lack of empathy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a significant shift in perspective-one that helped Barack Obama become elected and ushered in what perhaps could become an Age of Empathy. Through a better understanding of empathy's survival value in evolution, de Waal suggests, we can work together toward a more just society based on a more generous and accurate view of human nature. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten in layman's prose with a wealth of anecdotes, wry humor, and incisive intelligence, \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Empathy\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for our embattled times. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An important and timely message about the biological roots of human kindness.\"--Desmond Morris, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Naked Ape\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFRANS DE WAAL is a Dutch-born biologist who lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the world's best-known primatologists, de Waal is C. H. Candler professor of psychology and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences. In 2007, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e selected him as one of the World's 100 Most Influential People.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50911222890770,"sku":"9780307407771","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_07482f2a-e125-41e6-870b-9ad2531307d6.jpg?v=1738734110","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-age-of-empathy-natures-lessons-for-a-kinder-society-9780307407771","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}