Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times Highlight

The idea that reason is needed to tame the passions is closely linked to the notion that, but for this, human beings would behave like animals, doing what came naturally to them. In de Waal’s view, this may be true, but what comes naturally to us isn’t necessarily so destructive and pernicious. “We are born with impulses that draw us to others and that later in life make us care about them,” he argues.