Minds I've Met: From Denying to Embracing the Inner Lives of Animals

How humans think about animals—and our place among them—has undergone a seismic change. Breaking old scientific taboos and never shying away from controversial topics, renowned primatologist Frans de Waal was at the forefront of this revolution, fighting against claims of human exceptionalism. From de Waal’s early studies in the Netherlands through his five-decade professional career in the United States, Minds I’ve Met follows this radical shift in how science perceives animals. De Waal’s pioneering work challenged the traditional view of animals as living machines and contributed to a new image of animals as intentional agents with minds of their own, capable of remarkable cognitive feats, demonstrating empathy and self-awareness, showing emotions and consciousness. His final published work, Minds I’ve Met celebrates animals’ awe-inspiring abilities and traces the complete turnaround in one of the fiercest scientific debates of our time, bringing humans ever closer to the rest of the animal world and animals closer to us.