Where many individuals live together, conflicts arise. In that we are no different from our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. In fact, if there are problems in chimpanzee communities, to ensure that peace and order are maintained when several are fighting, an impartial third party usually intervenes, acting as a referee or police . Primatologists from the University of Zurich reveal in the latest issue of the journal PLoS ONE that it is a fundamental mechanism to guarantee the stability of the group in these primates.
Typically ape "guards" are highly respected males or females, who tend to resolve conflict successfully and, of course, selflessly. ? The bases of our moral behavior in society, destined to maintain cohesion, are strongly rooted; so much so that they are also observed in our primate relatives ?, concludes Claudia Rudolf von Rohr, co-author of the work.
