When people do evil things, we call them “animals”. And if people act altruistically, we attribute this to our noble human morality, calling them “humane”. 

Both sides of human nature are tied to our biology. This theme of the duality of human nature will be explored by looking at our two closest primate relatives: the chimpanzee andthe bonobo. 

The chimpanzee has a reputation for being murderous and power-hungry, whereas the bonobo, prefers to “make love - not war”. 
Both apes are equally close to us. Over the last few decades, biologists have popularized the image of humans as driven by “selfish genes”, doing only what is good for themselves. 
But the tone of the debate within Western society has changed since the crisis of 2008, and also within biology there has been a change in the tone of the debate about human nature over the last few years. 
The evolution of morality has become a central theme. 

De Waal looks at human behavior through the eyes of a primatologist. By using the bonobo and the chimp as two provocative metaphors for ourselves and our evolutionary ancestry, we are able to see vivid mirror images of ourselves.