Human Ethology

by Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt

With the discovery of conditioned reflexes by I. P. Pavlov, the possibilities for experimenting, following the example set by the classical, exact sciences, were made available to the behavioral sciences. Many psychologists hoped that the component parts of behavior had also been found from which the entire, multifaceted cosmos of behavior could then be constructed. An experimentally oriented psychology subsequently developed including the influential school of behaviorism.This first text on human ethology presents itself as a unified work, even though not every area could be treated with equal depth. For example, a branch of ethology has developed in the past decade which places particular emphasis on ecology and population genetics. This field, known as sociobiology, has enriched discussion beyond the boundaries of behavioral biology through its stimulating, and often provocative, theses.After vigorous debates between behaviorists, anthropologists, and sociologists, we have entered a period of exchange of thoughts and a mutual approach, which in many instances has led to cooperative projects of researchers from different disciplines. This work offers a biological point of view for discussion and includes data from the author's cross-cultural work and research from the staff of his institute. It confirms, above all else, the astonishing unity of mankind and paints a basically positive picture of how we are moved by the same passions, jealousies, friendliness, and active curiosity.The need to understand ourselves has never been as great as it is today. An ideologically torn humanity struggles for its survival. Our species, does not know how it should compensate its workers, and it experiments with various economic systems, constitutions, and forms of government. It struggles for freedom and stumbles into newer conflicts. Population growth is apparently completely out of hand, and at the same time many resources are being depleted. We must consider our existence rationally in order to understand it, but certainly not with cold, calculating reason but with the warm feeling of a heart concerned for the welfare of later generations.

Genres: Anthropology, Science, Evolution, Psychology, Biology, Cultural, Nonfiction

848 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt was an Austrian ethnologist in the field of human ethology. In authoring the book which bears that title, he applied ethology to humans by studying them in a perspective more common to volumes studying animal behavior.

Reviews

[James Hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm writing this review from the point of view of a general, interested reader - not a scientist and not as someone evaluating the book as a possible textbook or in terms of its academic usefulness. I ordered the book because I read a comment about it in The New York Times, I think, another author recommending it and thought it sounded interesting. I had no idea what Ethology was nor had I ever heard of the author.
Now, after eight-hundred or so pages and six months of bite-sized reading, I know a lot more about both. Ethology is basically the study of animal behaviour in its natural setting. Human Ethology, then, is the study of human behaviour in natural settings. What this means is a broad mix (to my mind) of anthropology, psychology, biology and even sociology. If anything I think it doesn't go far enough into neurology and genetics, although my guess is that there are plenty of studies going on in this field now, even if this book, published in 2007, doesn't include them. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, it should be pointed out, passed away in 2018.
The book is divided into chapters, arranged like a textbook, illustrated with photos taken by the author on fieldwork trips and diagrams. It has a strangely old-fashioned feel for a subject so newish but the text is clearly written and never over-complicated. Chapters might be more or less interesting depending on the reader's own requirements but I read the book cover to cover and enjoyed things in each chapter.
If I can't judge the book on its scientific usefulness, I can only answer the question - is it interesting? Revealing perhaps? The answer on both counts is yes, with caveats. Of course it is fascinating to read about who we are and what we are, as animals. There are nuggets of interesting information - that kissing evolved from food-sharing and that children grasp because we used to have hair, for example - but oftentimes much of the text feels like trying to translate common sense into scientese. Genuine insights were few and far between. What this was more, I found, was a solid cataloguing and organisation of human behaviour. As humans, much is not a surprise, sadly.
It's a surprise to me that a holistic view of humans as animals - as what we are - is still at such a rudimentary level, although I couldn't help thinking, throughout reading the book, that each various strain of study which incorporates humanity is far more advanced than what was included here. What this is, then, is a way of trying to organise all that extant information into a system, giving it a name and trying to create a unified field of study. Whether this book is totally successful in doing that, I'm not convinced.
I enjoyed it, though. Bottom line for me was the fact that we have evolved culturally far too quickly; that our biology lags far behind.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eibel-Eibesfeldt is one of the leading human ethologists around, applying evolutionary theory to human behavior. This represents an accessible work in which he uses evolutionary theory to explain human behavior. It does what it sets out to do quite well. One of the better texts on the subject. . . .

[Antonio Meridda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendido libro, anche se in certi punti un po' datato, per capire le origini e i meccanismi del comportamento umano.

[Bülent Duagi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book