In memoriam honorary doctor Frans de Waal: He advanced our thinking about humans and animals

March 18, 2024

Frans de Waal became known in the 1980s with his book Chimpanzee Politics, based on his observations of these great apes in Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem. He saw that all kinds of behavior hitherto seen as typically human also occurred in apes. At the time, this was a major turnaround in thinking about humans and animals. In those years, Frans de Waal left for the United States, where he became professor of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta in 1991, and director of the field station at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. 

In his research, Frans de Waal brought humans and animals closer together. For example, he wrote books on empathy and intelligence in animals, and his most recent book was on gender diversity. As he himself once put it according to Emory University. “One thing that I’ve seen often in my career is claims of human uniqueness that fall away and are never heard from again. We always end up overestimating the complexity of what we do. That’s how you can sum up my career: I’ve brought apes a little closer to humans but I’ve also brought humans down a bit.” 

In 2009, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Humanistics. Emeritus Professor Harry Kunneman was his honorary promotor: "Frans de Waal showed that morality has deep evolutionary roots. Philosophy, religion and philosophy of life build morally on the moral feelings we inherited from our evolutionary ancestors." Rector Joke van Saane: "The thinking of Frans de Waal means a lot to the University of Humanistic Studies. He was a pioneer in many ways. Not only because he dared to put topics like empathy and morality in animals on the map, but also because of the way he researched them. As a scientist, he did not limit himself to biology and psychology, but also turned to the humanities. Being able to combine multiple scientific disciplines moves our thinking forward. He showed us that very well." 

Photos by Arnaud Mooij

Frans de Waal, after receiving his honorary doctorate of the University of Humanistic Studies (2009) 

It was announced this weekend that primatologist Frans de Waal died March 14. He gained world fame with his research on ape behavior and wrote many books on animal social behavior. In doing so, he made connections between psychology, philosophy and biology. In 2009 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Humanistic Studies.