(英会話リスニングスクリプト)
Our closest living relative, the chimpanzee,
seems to share them.
When one chimp fights another, an onlooker
will often comfort the loser by putting an arm around its
shoulder and planting a kiss.
They also seem to have a strong sense of
justice and punishment; if one chimp hides food from the
others, he is likely to be victimized by the rest of the
group.
It seems that many animals are not motivated
for purely selfish reasons, but that many species, including
humans, elephants and dolphins, rely on cooperative behaviour.
"There are two kinds of morality",
say the researchers.
"The first is the ability to empathize
with others and the second is how we do favours for each
other."
A sophisticated form of empathy is the ability
to put yourself in someone else's shoes, to imagine how
you would feel if you were in their position.
It seems that many pet-owners and farmers
who previously credited animals with "human" emotions
may have been nearer to the truth than the scientists previously
thought.
But who is to say whether your dog's happiness
when you come home is a real emotion, or just an instinctive
reaction to a certain stimulus.
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