Wolf Children

by Lucien Malson

"The idea that man has no nature," Malson begins, "is now beyond dispute. He has or rather is a history." In these provocative words, which form the theme of this essay, Malson carries one step further the assumption of behaviorists, structural functionalists, cultural anthropologists, and evolutionists that "human nature" is a constant. If the content of the analysis made by anthropologists is not affected by a "human nature" that lies outside of history, humanity to all effects and purposes becomes its history. So-called wolf children are children abandoned at an early age and found leading an isolated existence. They are thus natural examples of complete social deprivation and Malson explores their history in this complete study. His essay is followed by Itard's account of Victor, a wolf child found in the forests of central France at the end of the eighteenth century. Itard's two reports have become a classic of psychological and educational literature, and are presented here as the most important first-hand account of a wolf child.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Philosophy, Classics

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malson write well on jazz. He is not a psycholog or a physician. This book can give only that it can. Its interest, a good resume on the different wild child and a second part with the original observation of the doctor Itard on Victor de l'Aveyron, which inpired Truffaut.
It is a good introduction for people who have question on this fascinating interrogation wild child.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A compelling argument against any genetic predisposition to a non- physical trait. Malson begins with by recalling Marx’s notion that at birth humans are ‘the least capable of all creatures’; this is developed by accounts of various children who were separated from society, either by being isolated at length or brought up by wild animals. He rejects any idea of universal or human nature, and makes reference to racist rhetoric which perpetuated the myth that there is a fundamentally different genetic makeup of those from different races, and uses inconsequential physical characteristics such as skull size to try and determine intelligence. His discussions on various civilisations and the vast differences in their social structure are strengthen his point that there is no single psychoanalysis or description of human nature that can be universally applicable.
The shortfall of this book was the descriptions of the ‘wolf-children’; I found any attempt at trying to apply scientific language to these individual and varied cases to be unconvincing..
The book also contained Itard’s complete account of raising ‘the Savage of Aveyron’, which is more scientific in nature.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The moronic text of a governmental bureaucrat who wanted to be a writer. When the reader looks for science, it is philosophy. When the reader looks for philosophy, it is science. Another in a long French tradition of doing psychology on characters invented by the author to support the trend of the day in order for the author to gain recognition and a better pension plan.

[Mina Savic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Une première partie intéressante qui questionne la nature humaine et comment l’éducation peut influencer un être. C’était très instructif mais l’écriture est un peu lourde (après je trouve que c’est un des livres de philosophie les plus abordables que j’ai lu). Néanmoins Mémoires sur les développements de Victor de L’Aveyron était juste un enchaînement de faits sans profondeur qui peut être intéressant si on est vraiment passionné par le sujet (ça m’a très fortement cassé les pieds).

[Jacob Boonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting text.

[Karl Steel]

"Man's genetic inheritance is quite formless until it has been given a shape by social forces, yet the direction of these forces themselves may always be changed by the intervention of consciousness" (24)

Fundamentally Marxist and existentialist argument against 'human nature' (and against racism (19), Malson's Wolf Children offers further context for the late 50s and mid 60s assaults on transhistorical naturalisms in Foucault and other thinkers. The roots of Butler's Gender Trouble, inter alia, can be found in here.

Malson--better known as a jazz writer!--is irredemably humanist. Humans alone, per Malson, can be completely altered; only humans can really be said to use tools (32), to have true intelligence (and here he uses Merleau-Ponty), or to make gifts. The savage character of feral children proves the open character of human: it is not that feral children 'revert' but rather that they lack what humans need to be human, namely, a society of their peers: "deprived of the society of others man becomes a monster. He cannot regress to his pre-cultural state, because such a state never existed" (35). Without hailing, without the symbolic, without historical thrownness, there is no human, at least per Malson: "the search for human nature among 'wild' children has always proved fruitless precisely because human nature can appear only when human existence has entered the social context" (12). "Pure thought" no more exists than the "purely human" (18); there is no universal human nature, nor are there "naturally existing" ethnic differences.

Truffaut clearly read this book: it's the basis for his Wild Child, but also includes an anecdote of a child surviving a defenestration that appears in L'argent de poche.

The book includes Itard's account of Peter of Aveyron, taken from the 1802 English translation.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Research for the book I am working on. This book includes Itard's two reports to the (ha ha we are sooooo French) Society of the Observers of Man on the feral child, Victor, The Wild Boy of Aveyron. Both Itard and his pupil come across as very human despite the essential academic nature of the papers.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found his social disinterest to be the best part of the book.

[Crystal Melbourne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Psychology.

[Fredy Saber]

ggg