Bettering humanity through the evolution of ‘human’s best friend’

Bettering humanity through the evolution of 'human's best friend'

If we're really going to the dogs, that may not be such a bad thing.

Dr. Brian Hare, a professor of evolutionary anthropology and psychology at Duke University, delighted audiences with what we can learn from the evolution of dogs - and our closest relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos - to help build a better and friendlier future during the Voyages of Discovery event on Feb. 5 at East Carolina University.

With his wife and research partner, Vanessa Woods, Hare is the author of several best-selling books on the psychology of dogs, including "The Genius of Dogs," "Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity" and "Puppy Kindergarten."

In 2024, Hare and Woods were featured in the Netflix documentary "Inside the Mind of Dogs," which explores the emotional aspects of dogs. The series also showcases Duke's Canine Cognition Center, where Hare and Woods train puppies as service dogs.

Hare gave many examples of evolution and addressed the questions of what makes humans different from other animals, especially the great apes. How did our brains develop? How are we psychologically designed to live a friendlier life, and how have dogs evolved similarly?

For instance, Hare said that bonobos like to help strangers and will share food because they like making new friends, but chimpanzees fear strangers and have a tendency to fight them. He said that bonobos and chimpanzees may use one another as a tool to reach a particular goal, but that they do not understand the intentions of others.

Humans, on the other hand, have shared intentionality, or shared goals that we understand. This, he said, is an important part of human psychology that makes us different from other animals. Our shared intentionality allows for cooperation and expanding upon one another's knowledge and skills into the future.

Just like humans recognize intention, Hare said dogs have been domesticated to recognize and respond to human requests, words, gestures and intentions, and they work to solve problems.

"Dogs are very humanlike in their ability to understand," Hare said. "Dogs have been shaped by their lives with humans to be our friends, and they have the psychology to interact with us to solve problems."

Hare discussed his study into puppy kindergarten, which was inspired by service dog training. Service dogs may be trained in various ways, from helping veterans with PTSD, assisting blind, deaf, diabetic or autistic individuals, to locating explosives and gas leaks.

"Service dogs can change someone's life, and that is a beautiful thing, but only half of all dogs in training graduate to become service dogs," Hare said.

Over a seven-year study with puppies, Hare examined when puppies first exhibit traits that are good for service dogs, how those skills can be measured and how they may be developed further. He said all of this happens before a puppy reaches 16 weeks of age, but not all dogs can be trained to perform these tasks.

Hare mentioned that attraction is replacing fear through evolution and natural selection. Female, bonobos, for example, are rejecting alpha males and now prefer less aggressive male bonobos to carry on the genetic line, making for friendlier tendencies in their species.

This is occurring in human evolution as well. Our species forms close social bonds that are as strong, or stronger, than family because we see mutual understanding and common interests through our social identities.

"I hope what folks take away is that friendliness wins in life. The most successful stories on Earth are ones where fear was replaced by attraction and new forms of cooperation were born," he said. "Our dogs are Exhibit A, but our past tells the same story. We are here because our species has a new type of friendliness that gives us a big advantage. Understanding our nature points to how we can build a friendlier future."

While on campus, Hare met with students and community members, talking about "Survival of the Friendliest."

"It was nice that the college put something together for the students in an informal environment to talk one-on-one with Dr. Hare," said Charlie Tarrant, an ECU student who participated in an afternoon student event.

Zoe Diaz, who also participated in the gathering, thought Hare's visit was very interesting. She liked learning about the different ways chimpanzees and bonobos interact with one another and help or harm others in their circles.

Hare's visit concluded the 19th season of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Voyages of Discovery Series.

"For the past 19 years, I have been delighted by the many insightful speakers that Harriot College brings to eastern North Carolina through the Voyages of Discovery series," said Dr. Allison Danell, dean of Harriot College. "Each speaker brings a unique perspective to the challenges facing our society."

To view and download photos from the Voyages reception with Hare, visit the photo gallery by Rob Taylor Photography and Design.

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