--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying…" description: "\"Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tail..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/frans-de-waal-2997_apes_darwin-wasn-t-just-provocative-in-saying_2309049.png" --- # Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend… ![“Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament.” quote by Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/frans-de-waal-2997_apes_darwin-wasn-t-just-provocative-in-saying_2309049.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/frans-de-waal-2997_apes_darwin-wasn-t-just-provocative-in-saying_2309049.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/frans-de-waal-2997_apes_darwin-wasn-t-just-provocative-in-saying_2309049.png) > “Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament.” [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues Darwin's view of humans as apes is incomplete; we share many ape traits beyond ancestry. **In simple terms:** Humans share many ape traits. Key Takeaway Recognize our animal nature. Themes evolutionary biology human nature anthropology Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - education - public discourse - science communication - self‑reflection Key Concepts comparative anatomy behavioral ecology Questions to Reflect On - What ape traits do we see in modern life? - How does this view affect our self‑image? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex human uniqueness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Provocative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provocative/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) ## Related quotes > [I did some writing for that movie. The remake of Planet of the Apes. I didn't write the script. But I wrote some lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-did-some-writing-for-that-movie-the-remake-of-planet-of-the-apes-i/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [“Not only was the theory of evolution not invented by Darwin himself; it wasn’t invented by his Enlightenment predecessors either. It was invented by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/not-only-was-the-theory-of-evolution-not-invented-by-darwin-himself-2/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“One way to try to answer the question “What makes us human?” is to ask “What makes us different from great apes?” or, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/one-way-to-try-to-answer-the-question-what-makes-us-human-is-to-ask/) [Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/) > [“Not only was the theory of evolution not invented by Darwin himself; it wasn’t invented by his Enlightenment predecessors either. It was invented by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/not-only-was-the-theory-of-evolution-not-invented-by-darwin-himself/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [Although elephants are far more distantly related to us than the great apes, they seem to have evolved similar social and cognitive capacities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/although-elephants-are-far-more-distantly-related-to-us-than-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [I call the notion that we are nothing but killer apes the Beethoven fallacy. Beethoven was disorganized and messy, and yet his music is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/i-call-the-notion-that-we-are-nothing-but-killer-apes-the-beethoven/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Contrary to general belief, humans imitate apes more than the reverse. The sight of monkeys or apes induces an irresistible urge in people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/contrary-to-general-belief-humans-imitate-apes-more-than-the-reverse-2/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Humans became easy prey when they moved from the forest to the savanna, which deprived them of the option of climbing trees to flee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/humans-became-easy-prey-when-they-moved-from-the-forest-to-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [It is not only visitors to the zoo who are fascinated but uneasy in the presence of chimpanzees; the same is true of scientists.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/it-is-not-only-visitors-to-the-zoo-who-are-fascinated-but-uneasy-in/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [It is well known that apes in the wild offer spontaneous assistance to each other, defending against leopards, say, or consoling distressed companions with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/it-is-well-known-that-apes-in-the-wild-offer-spontaneous-assistance/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Being both more systematically brutal than chimps and more empathetic than bonobos, we are by far the most bipolar ape. Our societies are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/being-both-more-systematically-brutal-than-chimps-and-more-empathetic/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [The fact that the apes exist and that we can study them is extremely important and makes us reflect on ourselves and our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-fact-that-the-apes-exist-and-that-we-can-study-them-is-extremely/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [We start out postulating sharp boundaries, such as between humans and apes, or between apes and monkeys, but are in fact dealing with sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-start-out-postulating-sharp-boundaries-such-as-between-humans-and/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [ Their \[the U.S.’s\] defense budget in absolute figures is almost 25 times bigger than Russia’s. This is what in defense is referred to as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/their-the-u-s-s-defense-budget-in-absolute-figures-is-almost-25-times/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [David Cronenberg is the most provocative, original, and consistently excellent North American director of his generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-hoberman/david-cronenberg-is-the-most-provocative-original-and-consistently/) J. Hoberman ## More by Frans de Waal > [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [If both parties have a stake in the other, the chances of them killing each other are going to be reduced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/if-both-parties-have-a-stake-in-the-other-the-chances-of-them-killing/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [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/) > [Unlike the primate hand, the elephant's grasping organ is also its nose. Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/unlike-the-primate-hand-the-elephant-s-grasping-organ-is-also-its/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Science is not inherently good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/science-is-not-inherently-good/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [The possibility that empathy resides in parts of the brain so ancient that we share them with rats should give pause to anyone comparing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/the-possibility-that-empathy-resides-in-parts-of-the-brain-so-ancient/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“on August 16, 1996, when an eight-year-old female gorilla named Binti Jua helped a three-year-old boy who had fallen eighteen feet into the primate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/on-august-16-1996-when-an-eight-year-old-female-gorilla-named-binti/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [We start out postulating sharp boundaries, such as between humans and apes, or between apes and monkeys, but are in fact dealing with sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/we-start-out-postulating-sharp-boundaries-such-as-between-humans-and/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Perhaps it's just me, but I am wary of any persons whose belief system is the only thing standing between them and repulsive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/perhaps-it-s-just-me-but-i-am-wary-of-any-persons-whose-belief-system/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Personally, I think it is possible to build a society that is moral on a nonreligious basis, but the jury is still out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/personally-i-think-it-is-possible-to-build-a-society-that-is-moral-on/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“humans are a strange lot. We have the power to analyze and explore the world around us, yet panic as soon as the evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/humans-are-a-strange-lot-we-have-the-power-to-analyze-and-explore-the/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [Armies are a purely human invention. Most soldiers who go to war nowadays don't even do it because they're inherently aggressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/armies-are-a-purely-human-invention-most-soldiers-who-go-to-war/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [There's actually a lot of evidence in primates and other animals that they return favors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/there-s-actually-a-lot-of-evidence-in-primates-and-other-animals-that/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [“In a world divided by chimpophiles and bonobophiles, we all had a good laugh when Stephen peeled his banana. (62)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/in-a-world-divided-by-chimpophiles-and-bonobophiles-we-all-had-a-good/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [In Africa, we have the bush meat trade, which means that, on a very large scale, animals are being killed in the forests and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/in-africa-we-have-the-bush-meat-trade-which-means-that-on-a-very/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) [Explore all 143 Frans de Waal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) ## More Apes quotes > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/and-the-devil-did-grin-for-his-darling-sin-is-pride-that-apes-humility/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Battle For The Planet Of The Apes', was just a film for kids and didn't have any deep meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lee-thompson/battle-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-was-just-a-film-for-kids-and-didn-t/) J. Lee Thompson > [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The idea that war should be conducted within a moral framework may seem like a quaint medieval practice, but as speech separates humans from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-idea-that-war-should-be-conducted-within-a-moral-framework-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Mass ought to be in Latin, unless you could do it in Greek or Chinese. In fact, any abracadabra that no bloody member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/mass-ought-to-be-in-latin-unless-you-could-do-it-in-greek-or-chinese/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [I think the problem we have as apes is we're asking far bigger questions than we could possibly process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-think-the-problem-we-have-as-apes-is-we-re-asking-far-bigger/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [We admit that we are like apes, but we seldom realise that we are apes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-admit-that-we-are-like-apes-but-we-seldom-realise-that-we-are-apes/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Lower your gaze because you become less of a human every time you stare at a woman and you stare at her like she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/lower-your-gaze-because-you-become-less-of-a-human-every-time-you/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [It was their individuality combined with the shyness of their behavior that remained the most captivating impression of this first encounter with the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dian-fossey/it-was-their-individuality-combined-with-the-shyness-of-their/) [Dian Fossey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dian-fossey/) > [Apes had it worked out. No ape would philosophize, "The mountain is, and is not." They would think, "The banana is. I will eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/apes-had-it-worked-out-no-ape-would-philosophize-the-mountain-is-and/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Browse all 444 Apes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. 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