Lindsey C. (abaisse) reviewed on 8/7/2013 + 21 more book reviews

De Waal's experiments and observations on fairness and morality in other species, particularly non-human primates, offers a fascinating insight into the likely origins of human morality. His "bottom-up" theory proposes that humans invented religions to strengthen ideals that are already in place, and that religion is important in encouraging humans to act morally. He criticizes "neo-atheists" like Richard Dawkins for being too eager to throw religion out the window. De Waal's views may be provocative to both atheists and the faithful, but his science is sound and his opinions are balanced and thoroughly researched. I gave the book four stars rather than five only because it seems slightly unorganized - the chapters jump around, and he repeats his main points unnecessarily frequently. If you read the book, you must also watch De Waal's TED talk. He shows videos of some of the fairness experiments with monkeys mentioned in the book. Seeing the videos and actually watching the monkeys' reactions to unequal rewards for performing equal tasks really drives De Waal's point home.

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