I've always felt you don't have to be completely detached, emotionally uninvolved to make precise observations. There's nothing wrong with feeling great empathy for your subjects.

I think the best evenings are when we have messages, things that make us think, but we can also laugh and enjoy each other's company.

If you look into their [chimpanzees] eyes, you know you're looking into a thinking mind. They teach us that we are not the only beings with personalities, minds capable of rational thought, altruism and a sense of humor. That leads to new respect for other animals, respect for the environment and respect for all life.

Every single day, we could be in a motorcar accident, so, we have to carry on with our lives, and not imagine terror around every corner.

I believe that we have more capability than any other creature to control our biological inheritance - and we do so most of the time.

What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions, a consequence of our sophisticated spoken language.

The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own lives and our own ways, because we actually know much better how to do it then when you start interfering."