If you ask anyone, what is morality based on? These are the two factors that always come out: One is reciprocity, … a sense of fairness, and the other one is empathy and compassion.

De Waal is summarizing a recurring finding from both everyday moral intuitions and research in moral psychology: when people explain what makes an action “moral,” they tend to appeal to two pillars. First is reciprocity or fairness—norms about equal treatment, proportionality, and returning good (or bad) in kind. Second is empathy/compassion—the capacity to feel with others and be motivated to relieve suffering. In de Waal’s broader work on primate behavior, these are not uniquely human abstractions but have evolutionary roots in social animals, where cooperation and care stabilize group life. The quote thus frames morality less as divine command or pure reason and more as social-emotional capacities shaped by living together.