The development of family entities enables men to cooperate far more effectively. Instead of constantly competing for the women with other men, each man essentially has a partner assigned to him, one with whom he can establish a family.

We would much rather blame nature for what we don't like in ourselves than credit it for what we do like.

We, who think like animals living in small groups, must structure a global world. We believe in universal human rights and believe racism and war are wrong. On the other hand, it is our nature to be cooperative and loving almost exclusively with the members of the group to which we feel we belong.

There is little evidence that other animals judge the appropriateness of actions that do not directly affect themselves.

If you are a cooperative animal you need to watch what you get. If you, or even a whole community, invest in something but then a few individuals receive a much larger return, it's not a good arrangement. If it happens consistently, it's time to look for an arrangement that is more beneficial. That's why we're so sensitive to how rewards are being divided.

The more self-aware an animal is, the more empathetic it tends to be.

Religion may have become a codification of morality, and it may fortify it, but it's not the origin of it.