Representing the best
Finnish authors abroad
Finnish authors abroad
Where lies the boundary between a human and a chimpanzee – and does it even exist?
Cooperation, friendship, empathy, violence, belligerence – these are all traits that have been considered to be inherent to humans alone. However, all of these traits are present in the complex social life of our closest primate relatives. The more we learn about other primates, the more difficult it becomes to define humanity.
In her final work, acclaimed Finnish biologist Sonja Koski (1973–2025) offers a personal and research-based account of the similarities and differences between humans and other primates, especially chimpanzees and bonobos. Her book shows that understanding what makes us human requires recognizing and accepting our evolutionary history and the many ways in which we are related to our simian cousins.
Written with a personal touch, this book is for everyone looking for a new way to understand humanity – not in relation to technology or AI, but from the branches of trees and the shadows of the forest. It is the impressive summary of Koski’s decades-long research on primates – warm, honest, and thought-provoking.
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition
2026, State Award for Public Information
‘This book offers a unique and reflective insight into the lives of chimpanzees: their intelligence and emotions, tools and cultures, sociability and belligerence, friendship and empathy, and norms and morals. To human readers, these themes are so familiar that we consider them hallmarks of our own species. The Chimpanzee Within Us demonstrates that many of the behavioural traits of humans are also common to our distant relatives and have very ancient evolutionary origins. Human behaviour may well have a simian core, and we may not be as special as we often like to think.
Sonja Koski’s book is not merely a concise overview of primate behaviour. The research-based knowledge is naturally interwoven throughout the book with the author’s personal account of her journey to becoming a primatologist. The story is driven by a deep respect for the subjects of the research, compassion and a longing for connection across species. In the words of the author, these are needed “so that we can embrace a worldview in which other species are equal to us and just as special and important as we are.”‘ –Committee for Public Information motivation
‘The book succeeds in surprising the reader many times with fascinating details about the skills and mindscapes of species closely related to us. [—] Koski’s own observations and comments between different chapters are inspiring and bring a primatologist’s world close to the reader.’ –Pi Mäkilä, Eläinten ystävä magazine
‘For new readers, this is an excellent introduction to the subject [of primatology]. The book gives a good picture of why studying primates is so interesting, as it makes us ponder the big questions. While reading the book, one inevitably comes to think how easily we consider our own species to be inevitable, although it isn’t so.’ –Titta Lindström, Kirjavinkit literature portal
