Naked Ape or Homo Sapiens?: A Reply to Desmond Morris

by John Lewis, Bernard Towers

The intent of this book is the refutation of statements by Desmond Morris, Robert Ardrey, and Konrad Lorenz. The authors stress the great differences between man and other animals, with particular emphasis on culture, learning, and adaptability. They oppose notions of human instincts, especially aggressive ones as outlined by Freud and recently by Storr, Lorenz, Ardrey, and Morris. They point to the existence of human cooperation and love to develop their assertion that man is more than an animal. They forcefully criticise the mistaken logic of leaping from bird behaviour to human behaviour, or the mistaken thinking that something must be true for man today simply because it might have been true for his ancestors millions of years ago.

Certainly the authors are correct in stressing the faulty logic and gross overstatements in the books they attack. Their arguments relative to learning, culture, and the uniqueness of man are supported by all anthropological information. But is it necessary to debate with Morris, using equally fallacious contentions?

134 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1969

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

John Lewis was a British Unitarian minister and Marxist philosopher and author of many works on philosophy, anthropology, and religion.

Reviews

[Natalia]

Definitely the best book I read during 5 years of my sociology studies.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really thought provoking book on evolution, written by my Dad, Bernard Towers, and his good friend John Lewis :)