--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our brains have been designed to blur the…" description: "\"Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png" --- # Our brains have been designed to blur the line between… ![“Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant.” quote by Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png) > “Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant.” [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. Our brains evolved to merge self and other, creating shared identity across species. **In simple terms:** We naturally blend self with others. Key Takeaway Recognize interconnectedness. Themes empathy identity evolution Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - teamwork - conflict resolution - parenting - cross‑species research Key Concepts neural circuitry social cognition Questions to Reflect On - How does this blending affect moral responsibility? - When does empathy become harmful? A Different Perspective May blur personal boundaries and cause over‑identification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient Neural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-neural-6065082/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Between](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/between/) [Blur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blur/) [Brains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains/) [Brains Designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brains-designed-857209/) [Designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/designed/) [Elephant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephant/) [Every](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/line/) [Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marks/) [Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouse/) [Neural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neural/) [Neural Circuitry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neural-circuitry-3130541/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-ancient-4925795/) ## Related quotes > [The continuous networks of neural circuitry accomplish their functions using multiple, independently discovered strategies. The brain lends itself well to the complexity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/the-continuous-networks-of-neural-circuitry-accomplish-their/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [You gleefully say, "I just thought of something!", when in fact your brain performed an enormous amount of work before your moment of genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eagleman/you-gleefully-say-i-just-thought-of-something-when-in-fact-your-brain/) [David Eagleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eagleman/) > [“The interdependent couple is the new setting and their knowledge of Self is an ancient treasure."-Serena Jade”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-jade/the-interdependent-couple-is-the-new-setting-and-their-knowledge-of/) [Serena Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-jade/) > [“But then human beings only understood each other in the first place by pretending. You didn't make predictions about people by modeling the hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/but-then-human-beings-only-understood-each-other-in-the-first-place/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“A second, parallel explanation of why our mistakes are so persistent took shape in the late 1990s: Our brains are designed to reproduce rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-dobelli/a-second-parallel-explanation-of-why-our-mistakes-are-so-persistent/) [Rolf Dobelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-dobelli/) > [“Our brains were not designed for us to sit around contemplating what we already have. They were not designed to trigger excitement for no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-brains-were-not-designed-for-us-to-sit-around-contemplating-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our brains are designed to solve some of our most complex problems when we're distracted by routine habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/our-brains-are-designed-to-solve-some-of-our-most-complex-problems/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Our brains have the ability to reorganize themselves by forming new neural connections throughout our lives. This ability is called neuroplasticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-thornton/our-brains-have-the-ability-to-reorganize-themselves-by-forming-new/) [Elizabeth Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-thornton/) > [My main interest is in trying to find radically different kinds of neural nets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/my-main-interest-is-in-trying-to-find-radically-different-kinds-of/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [“There are an estimated 100 billion neurons residing inside the skull with an exponential amount of neural connections”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/there-are-an-estimated-100-billion-neurons-residing-inside-the-skull/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [I think the first wave of deep learning progress was mainly big companies with a ton of data training very large neural networks, right?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ng/i-think-the-first-wave-of-deep-learning-progress-was-mainly-big/) [Andrew Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ng/) > [I'm a geek through and through. My last job at Microsoft was leading much of the search engine relevance work on Bing. There we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/i-m-a-geek-through-and-through-my-last-job-at-microsoft-was-leading/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [Innate mechanisms endow the visual system with highly specific connections, but visual experience early in life is necessary for their maintenance and full development.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torsten-wiesel/innate-mechanisms-endow-the-visual-system-with-highly-specific/) [Torsten Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torsten-wiesel/) > [“And what is the connection between Us and Them, how many bundled links do we find in the neural labyrinth? It's not enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dom-delillo/and-what-is-the-connection-between-us-and-them-how-many-bundled-links/) [Dom DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dom-delillo/) > [Having been trained as a computer scientist in the '90s, everybody knew that AI didn't work. People tried it. They tried neural nets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergey-brin/having-been-trained-as-a-computer-scientist-in-the-90s-everybody-knew/) [Sergey Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergey-brin/) ## 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 Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry that marks every mammal, from mouse to elephant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frans de Waal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-the-line-between-self-and-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancient" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-the-line-between-self-and-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72d/frans-de-waal-2997_ancient_our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-th_1597053.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our brains have been designed to blur the line between self and other. It is an ancient neural circuitry…” — Frans de Waal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frans de Waal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our brains have been designed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-the-line-between-self-and-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/our-brains-have-been-designed-to-blur-the-line-between-self-and-other/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```