Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves

What an interesting read about the emotional complexities of all sentient beings! As an old woman who lacks formal education but who has spent her life trying to educate herself on many topics, this book was a true joy to read! Thank you Mr. Dr Wall, Julia O'Malley-Keyes

For all us who have been told that emotions are secondary to reasoning but know that what we feel is far more recognizable than what we think. This book is your needed treatise. Emotional intelligence is real and for all of us who have known this fact because we have a dog or a cat or a chicken, we now have proof. Lots of proof. The arbitrary hierarchy which places humans at the apex of sentience and cognition is vulnerable if not just wrong. We could stand to learn a lot from animals, namely non-verbal communication, cooperation, and empathy. Every chapter is filled with observations and evidence which not only help us understand our animal neighbors, but ourselves.

Frans de Waal, in “Mama’s Last Hug,” occasionally drifts into sensitive subjects that might appear sexist or political, but I encourage dissenters to fit these digressions into his primary intentions, rather than simply dismiss them. Humans, both male and female, have distinct characteristics that define their appeal and to deny that is folly. The author recognizes the same characteristics in the primates he studies and, because his book explains how our behaviors often mirror each other, he would be remiss in not mentioning the male/female equation or political posturing. I see nothing wrong with likening the wearing of vivid lipstick by human females to the development of the bright red rear end by the female primate as she moves to entice a male to her love chamber. In fact, I find it rather amusing. Is there any other reason to smear the sticky condiment on a mouth that doesn’t really need further enhancement? DeWaal might linger a little too long on the subject, but his premise is spot on. And, it’s his book. Shame and embarrassment are not unique to humans. All animals express the same emotions although they are displayed in quite different forms. The author explores the similarities and the differences using expressive writing techniques. Although the differences are, for the most part, vastly different in their expression, some have remarkable similarity. As an example, the human characteristic of covering the face or turning the head away from observers when embarrassed is remarkably similar to the reaction of apes when something unusual or unexpected occurs. Sexual proclivities of apes are rampantly on display while those of humans are discretely hidden from view. It seems monkey love follows the dictate that if it feels good, then just do it. That’s not the norm in the people I associate with. Neither is the habit of grooming each other, something the apes associate with family and friends having a good time. We like to have snacks together, but not from each other’s hair. This book is amazing both in its writing and in its concept. Not only are animal emotions depicted in both scientific and amusing ways, the reader will always find something revolutionary in the way the author explains them. I urge you to read this book, keeping in mind that some things we humans do would probably cause blushes on the faces of our relatives, the primates, if they were capable of blushing. The elephant in the room here is Donald Trump. I agree with some reviewers that the author’s rant against the President is off base and not on subject. But, again, it’s his book and, as some readers have commented, they chose to scrap his effort in disgust. If nothing else, his lesson on emotions has been well applied. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES

This is a beautiful, engaging book supporting the argument I have long held, that consciousness arose early in organisms and is a consequence of integrated perception. De Waal makes many powerfully research-supported arguments for this. Most of what we do does not require human intelligence. One quibble about de Waal. He is strongly partisan politically, so partisan that it does not trouble him to take digs at conservative politicians like Margaret Thatcher in this book. He concludes his research supports his disagreement with, for instance, free markets. While the parallels he draws are well worth consideration, it appears that he may not understand subjects outside his field as thoroughly and in as nuanced a way as his own. The overt bias unfortunately makes his conclusions more suspect. It was unnecessary to insert partisan views into a wonderful book, and I was sorry to see him do it. Another book dedicated to that specific argument would have been more intellectually honest in my view.

In this wonderful book Frans de Waal points out that while Darwin concerned himself with the emotional life of animals, it became very unfashionable for more recent scientists to do so. Animals were considered as stimulus response mechanisms without an interior life and humans got to remain on their pedestal as far superior beings. Yet increasingly, younger scientists are challenging this view, performing studies that demonstrate the ability of various species to think, analyse, plan, remember, weigh consequences and of course, to feel. A non-scientist will readily infer emotional states in animals but until recently, scientists thought that even human babies could not feel pain, ridiculous as that sounds to anyone who’s ever had one. De Waal reminds us that evolution is a smooth process that rarely inserts something completely new, and that biologically, animal brains look very like our own. Having spent decades studying primates, his point of view could be summed up as: if it looks like a duck, talks like a duck and walks like a duck, it probably is a duck. In other words, animals have emotions. We’re not kidding ourselves with those stories of elephants grieving or loyal dogs feeling sad when their owners die or the happiness of animals at play. This has profound consequences for research and farming. Already, newer facilities for research are designed with respect for the social welfare of animals in mind and there are plenty of people who protest against factory farms. After reading such a sane, well-informed book such as this, a person would have to be mad not to feel the same. Refreshingly, de Waal, while acknowledging that chimpanzee society can indeed be very violent, reminds us that without large dollops of cooperation and trust, the species would have died out. He contrasts his point of view with that of Steven Pinker, who thinks that only increasing amounts of civilisation will save aggressive humans from themselves. He also wonders why peaceable bonobos aren’t taken more seriously as a model of how life could be lived. This is a richly rewarding book that is a joy to read. Hopefully, many will.

I don’t usually bother writing reviews for books, but for this one I will. A really thought provoking book which explores the science of emotions in humans and other animals. At times, I felt sad and tearful and at other times, I was laughing out loud at some of the stories that de Waal shares with the reader from his own experiences working with primates and other animals. I think there’s an awful lot we can learn from this book.

In phases it is good and sometimes you loses track while going through it.

Mama made me cry. At the same time she opened my eyes to the possibility that we (Homo Sapiens ) could have the same compassion and love for each other and other species going forward. I live in hope!

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