Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity

Brian Hare (b. 1976) is an anthropologist and evolutionary biologist who has focused on the cognitive abilities of dogs and primates. He is a professor at Duke University, where he established the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Hare’s research seeks to understand the evolution of cognition in humans and animals through comparative psychology, exploring how different species solve problems and communicate.

Hare earned a BA in Anthropology and Psychology from Emory University in 1998. At Emory he worked on Michael Tomasello’s studies into the spatial and empathetic cognition of dogs and chimpanzees. He pursued his PhD in Biological Anthropology at Harvard University under the mentorship of Richard Wrangham, completing it in 2004. Afterward, Hare joined the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, where he founded the Hominoid Psychology Research Group. His research there included studies on great ape cognition at various African sanctuaries, including bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo and chimpanzees at Tchimpounga and Ngamba Island. This research laid the groundwork for Hare’s future studies on the cognitive abilities of animals.

Since 2008, Hare has been a professor at Duke University, expanding his research to include lemur cognition at the Duke Lemur Center and continuing his work with dogs at the Duke Canine Cognition Center.