Book Reviewed: Mama’s last hug; Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves By Frans de Waal

Animal Emotions

Early ethologists studied animal behavior to understand a shared motivation. Their experimental setup was elegant and objective, but the underlying motivation for animal behavior was ignored. For example, fear and anger, and the animal reactions to it were carefully examined and conclusions were drawn. The prevailing assumption in these studies were that animals had instincts that gave inborn actions triggered by a situation. Behavioral biologists have changed this approach because the instincts are inflexible, and they have started to look from the point of emotions which allow flexibility. They prime body and mind, but do not dictate any specific course of actions. Emotions are neither invisible nor impossible to study; they can be measured. Levels of biomolecules associated with emotional experiences, from the “cuddle hormone” oxytocin to the stress hormone cortisol, can easily be determined. The hormones are virtually identical across the board; from humans to birds to invertebrates.

The artificial intelligence (AI) recognize the importance of emotions. AI with emotions would interact with humans with empathy and human-like emotions, and hopefully do not destroy mankind when they become too powerful. It is expected to facilitate engagement and working together for common good.

In this book, the author, a well-known primatologist proposes that animals experience emotions in the same way as humans do. Emotions infuse everything that inspire cognition and drives all animals and humans. By examining emotions, this book puts these vivid of mental experiences in evolutionary context, revealing how their richness, power and utility stretch across species and back into the history of animal kingdom.