dhw; My main concern, as you will have gathered, was to point out that the article you quoted did not in any way “refute” de Waal's arguments, as your heading proclaims. Whether you want to put us in a separate category from the Anthropoidea primates which you believe to have been our direct ancestors is up to you. Primates or prima donnas, we are still animals. - The issue of refutation revolves about de Waal attempting to over-humanize animal reactions. In my view he does. His emphasis on animal emotions is correct, but he overstates it for emphasis.