--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: human beings are actually more closely…" description: "\"“human beings are actually more closely related to the two species of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, the familiar chimp, and Pan paniscus, the rare, sma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/daniel-c-dennett-17655_chimpanzees_human-beings-are-actually-more-closely-r_624780.jpg" --- # human beings are actually more closely related to the two… ![“human beings are actually more closely related to the two species of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, the familiar chimp, and Pan paniscus, the rare, smaller pygmy chimp or bonobo) than those chimpanzees are to the other apes.” quote by Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/daniel-c-dennett-17655_chimpanzees_human-beings-are-actually-more-closely-r_624780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/daniel-c-dennett-17655_chimpanzees_human-beings-are-actually-more-closely-r_624780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e1/daniel-c-dennett-17655_chimpanzees_human-beings-are-actually-more-closely-r_624780.jpg) > ““human beings are actually more closely related to the two species of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, the familiar chimp, and Pan paniscus, the rare, smaller pygmy chimp or bonobo) than those chimpanzees are to the other apes.”” [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans share a closer genetic relationship with chimpanzees and bonobos than those apes do with other apes. **In simple terms:** Humans are genetically closer to chimps and bonobos than those apes are to other apes. Key Takeaway Recognize our shared evolutionary heritage. Themes evolution genetics species Mood thoughtful scientific Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - education - conservation - ethical debates Key Concepts anthropology phylogeny Questions to Reflect On - What implications does this have for human self‑understanding? - How should this influence our treatment of other primates? A Different Perspective Genetic similarity does not dictate moral equivalence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bonobo Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bonobo-chimpanzees-5047871/) [Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees/) [Chimpanzees Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees-apes-5047870/) [Chimpanzees Pan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees-pan-5047872/) [Species Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-chimpanzees-5047869/) ## Related quotes > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [What a dull universe it would be if everything in it conformed to our expectations, if it held nothing to surprise or baffle us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/what-a-dull-universe-it-would-be-if-everything-in-it-conformed-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Rather than something like King Kong where I really went after studying gorillas in the wild and captivity. I based Caesar \[ from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/rather-than-something-like-king-kong-where-i-really-went-after/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-good-of-words-if-they-aren-t-important-enough-to-quarrel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-unique-by-virtue-of-their-large/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests 'a chimpanzee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-suffix-naut-comes-from-the-greek-and-latin-words-for-ships-and/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I got to Africa. I got the opportunity to go and learn, not about any animal, but chimpanzees. I was living in my dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-got-to-africa-i-got-the-opportunity-to-go-and-learn-not-about-any/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“Lucy preferred gin and tonics during the summer and switched over to whiskey sours in the winter. At dinner, a sit-down affair with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hess/lucy-preferred-gin-and-tonics-during-the-summer-and-switched-over-to/) [Elizabeth Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hess/) > [It is hardly an exaggeration to say that a chimpanzee kept in solitude is not a real chimpanzee at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/it-is-hardly-an-exaggeration-to-say-that-a-chimpanzee-kept-in/) [Wolfgang Kohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/) > [Basically we are chimpanzees with about two percent more intelligence and a little less hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/basically-we-are-chimpanzees-with-about-two-percent-more-intelligence/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-sometimes-try-to-imagine-what-would-have-happened-if-we-d-known-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Through my work with PETA, I have learned a great deal about chimpanzee behavior and the plight of chimpanzees imprisoned in laboratories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/through-my-work-with-peta-i-have-learned-a-great-deal-about/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I guess I'm just an old mad scientist at bottom. Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a beautiful girl in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-guess-i-m-just-an-old-mad-scientist-at-bottom-give-me-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Daniel C. Dennett > [“It is not “scientism” to concede the objectivity and precision of good science, any more than it is history worship to concede that Napoleon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/it-is-not-scientism-to-concede-the-objectivity-and-precision-of-good/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Some years ago, there was a lovely philosopher of science and journalist in Italy named Giulio Giorello, and he did an interview with me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/some-years-ago-there-was-a-lovely-philosopher-of-science-and/) [Daniel C. 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Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“We can now expose perhaps the most common misunderstanding of Darwinism: the idea that Darwin showed that evolution by natural selection is a procedure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/we-can-now-expose-perhaps-the-most-common-misunderstanding-of/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Carpenters don’t make their saws and hammers, tailors don’t make their scissors and needles, and plumbers don’t make their wrenches, but blacksmiths can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/carpenters-don-t-make-their-saws-and-hammers-tailors-don-t-make-their/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“As I have often noted, a wagon with spoked wheels doesn’t just carry grain or freight from place to place; it carries the brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/as-i-have-often-noted-a-wagon-with-spoked-wheels-doesn-t-just-carry/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Our fundamental tactic of self-protection, self-control, and self-definition is not spinning webs or building dams, but telling stories, and more particularly connecting and controlling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/our-fundamental-tactic-of-self-protection-self-control-and-self/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“There is a species of primate in South America more gregarious than most other mammals, with a curious behavior.The members of this species often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/there-is-a-species-of-primate-in-south-america-more-gregarious-than/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“atheists and agnostics can have sacred values, values that are simply not up for re-evaluation at all. I have sacred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/atheists-and-agnostics-can-have-sacred-values-values-that-are-simply/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Does that mean that religious texts are worthless as guides to ethics? Of course not. They are magnificent sources of insight into human nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/does-that-mean-that-religious-texts-are-worthless-as-guides-to-ethics/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) [Explore all 36 Daniel C. Dennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) ## More Chimpanzees quotes > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Through my work with PETA, I have learned a great deal about chimpanzee behavior and the plight of chimpanzees imprisoned in laboratories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/through-my-work-with-peta-i-have-learned-a-great-deal-about/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-sometimes-try-to-imagine-what-would-have-happened-if-we-d-known-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Basically we are chimpanzees with about two percent more intelligence and a little less hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/basically-we-are-chimpanzees-with-about-two-percent-more-intelligence/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [It is hardly an exaggeration to say that a chimpanzee kept in solitude is not a real chimpanzee at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/it-is-hardly-an-exaggeration-to-say-that-a-chimpanzee-kept-in/) [Wolfgang Kohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/) > [“Lucy preferred gin and tonics during the summer and switched over to whiskey sours in the winter. At dinner, a sit-down affair with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hess/lucy-preferred-gin-and-tonics-during-the-summer-and-switched-over-to/) [Elizabeth Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hess/) > [I got to Africa. I got the opportunity to go and learn, not about any animal, but chimpanzees. I was living in my dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-got-to-africa-i-got-the-opportunity-to-go-and-learn-not-about-any/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The suffix 'naut' comes from the Greek and Latin words for ships and sailing. Astronaut suggests 'a sailor in space.' Chimponaut suggests 'a chimpanzee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/the-suffix-naut-comes-from-the-greek-and-latin-words-for-ships-and/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Certainly the first true humans were unique by virtue of their large brains. It was because the human brain is so large when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/certainly-the-first-true-humans-were-unique-by-virtue-of-their-large/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-good-of-words-if-they-aren-t-important-enough-to-quarrel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Rather than something like King Kong where I really went after studying gorillas in the wild and captivity. I based Caesar \[ from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/rather-than-something-like-king-kong-where-i-really-went-after/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [What a dull universe it would be if everything in it conformed to our expectations, if it held nothing to surprise or baffle us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/what-a-dull-universe-it-would-be-if-everything-in-it-conformed-to-our/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I guess I'm just an old mad scientist at bottom. Give me an underground laboratory, half a dozen atom-smashers, and a beautiful girl in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-guess-i-m-just-an-old-mad-scientist-at-bottom-give-me-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 164 Chimpanzees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“human beings are actually more closely related to the two species of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, the familiar chimp, and Pan paniscus, the rare, smaller pygmy chimp or bonobo) than those chimpanzees are to the other apes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daniel C. 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