--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we look straight and deep into a…" description: "\"If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee's eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. If they are animals, what must we be?\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/frans-de-waal-2997_animal_if-we-look-straight-and-deep-into-a-chim_2230417.png" --- # If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee's eyes, an… ![“If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee's eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. If they are animals, what must we be?” quote by Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/frans-de-waal-2997_animal_if-we-look-straight-and-deep-into-a-chim_2230417.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/frans-de-waal-2997_animal_if-we-look-straight-and-deep-into-a-chim_2230417.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e8/frans-de-waal-2997_animal_if-we-look-straight-and-deep-into-a-chim_2230417.png) > “If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee's eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. If they are animals, what must we be?” [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. Seeing intelligence and self‑assurance in chimpanzees challenges human exceptionalism, prompting reflection on our own nature and moral status. **In simple terms:** Chimp intelligence mirrors human traits. Key Takeaway Reevaluate human uniqueness. Themes anthropology ethics animal cognition Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - research ethics - conservation - education programs Key Concepts speciesism self‑reflection moral consideration Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities arise from recognizing animal intelligence? - How does this affect our treatment of other species? A Different Perspective Human superiority may be overstated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Chimpanzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzee/) [Chimpanzees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chimpanzees/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [When I was 7 and went to the zoo with my second-grade class, I saw chimpanzee eyes for the first time - the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/when-i-was-7-and-went-to-the-zoo-with-my-second-grade-class-i-saw/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [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/) > [A chimpanzee who is really gearing up for a fight doesn't waste time with gestures but just goes ahead and attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/a-chimpanzee-who-is-really-gearing-up-for-a-fight-doesn-t-waste-time/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [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/) > [The mass are animal, in pupilage, and near chimpanzee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-mass-are-animal-in-pupilage-and-near-chimpanzee/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Children, behold the Chimpanzee: He sits on the ancestral tree From which we sprang in ages gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/children-behold-the-chimpanzee-he-sits-on-the-ancestral-tree-from/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [One cannot watch chimpanzee infants for long without realizing that they have the same emotional need for affection and reassurance as human children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/one-cannot-watch-chimpanzee-infants-for-long-without-realizing-that/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [A chimpanzee could learn what I do physically, but it goes way beyond that. When you play, you play life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaco-pastorius/a-chimpanzee-could-learn-what-i-do-physically-but-it-goes-way-beyond/) [Jaco Pastorius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaco-pastorius/) > [ Once I saw a chimpanzee gaze at a particularly beautiful sunset for a full 15 minutes, watching the changing colors \[and then\] retire to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriaan-kortlandt/once-i-saw-a-chimpanzee-gaze-at-a-particularly-beautiful-sunset-for-a/) Adriaan Kortlandt > [The chimpanzee and the human share about 99.5 percent of their evolutionary history, yet most human thinkers regard the chimp as a malformed, irrelevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-trivers/the-chimpanzee-and-the-human-share-about-99-5-percent-of-their/) [Robert Trivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-trivers/) > [Shave a gorilla and it would be almost impossible, at twenty paces, to distinguish him from a heavyweight champion of the world. Skin a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/shave-a-gorilla-and-it-would-be-almost-impossible-at-twenty-paces-to/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The best relationship you can have with a chimpanzee is total mutual trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/the-best-relationship-you-can-have-with-a-chimpanzee-is-total-mutual/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The gods that we've made are exactly the gods you'd expect to be made by a species that's about half a chromosome away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-gods-that-we-ve-made-are-exactly-the-gods-you-d-expect-to-be-made/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I guess you could say I’ve got a monkey on my back. A monkey named Darwin.” He shrugged off the trench coat and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-andrew-bennett-low/i-guess-you-could-say-i-ve-got-a-monkey-on-my-back-a-monkey-named/) [Phillip Andrew Bennett Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-andrew-bennett-low/) ## 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 Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee's eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. 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