Animal Beauty: On the Evolution of Biological Aesthetics

by Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, Suse Grutzmacher (Illustrator)

An illustrated exploration of colors and patterns in the animal kingdom, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals.

Are animals able to appreciate what humans refer to as "beauty"? The term scarcely ever appears nowadays in a scientific description of living things, but we humans may nonetheless find the colors, patterns, and songs of animals to be beautiful in apparently the same way that we see beauty in works of art. In Animal Beauty, Nobel Prize-winning biologist Christiane N�sslein-Volhard describes how the colors and patterns displayed by animals arise, what they communicate, and how they function in the social life of animals. Watercolor drawings illustrate these amazing instances of animal beauty.

Darwin addressed the topic of ornament in his 1871 book The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, and did not hesitate to engage with criteria of beauty, convinced that animals experienced color and ornament as attractive and agreeable in the same way that we do, and that the role this played in mate choice pointed to a "sexual selection" distinct from natural selection. N�sslein-Volhard examines key examples of ornament and sexual selection in the animal kingdom and lays the groundwork for biological aesthetics. Noting that color patterns have not been a research priority--perhaps because they appeared to be nonessential luxuries rather than functional necessities--N�sslein-Volhard looks at recent scientific developments on the topic. In part because of N�sslein-Volhard's own research on the zebrafish, it is now possible to decipher the molecular genetic mechanisms that lead to production of colors in animal skin and its appendages and control its pattern and distribution.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Environment, Animals, Nature

128 pages, Hardcover

Published May 14, 2019

Reviews

[MsElisaB · Rating 2 out of 5]

In questo testo c'è poco. E quel poco che c'è è banale, sono informazioni superficiali, continuamente ripetute, che si hanno da studi scolastici pregressi di base o per minima cultura generale. E quel poco e banale che c'è è vago, solo citato o a malapena accennato ed in maniera approssimativa (un paio di capitoli sembrano proprio bozze, poco più di una scaletta di idee). L'autrice rimane generica, quasi sbrigativa, anche nella sezione in cui introduce i risultati ottenuti dal suo stesso laboratorio! Capisco la difficoltà di trattare un argomento di cui le conoscenze scientifiche sono ancora estremamente nebulose e, peraltro, così poco studiato, però si sarebbe potuto fare molto di più.
Non è un saggio, potrebbe essere al massimo la prefazione ad un saggio sull'argomento (che ipoteticamente leggerei, perché la tematica è decisamente nelle mie corde e ha enormi potenzialità di sviluppo).

[Luca Dell'Oca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un saggio molto interessante, dove si analizza l'estetica degli animali, la sua origine genetica, e come questa parte degli esseri viventi sia visibile nell'uomo spesso nello stesso modo in cui lo è negli animali. Una piacevole lettura.

[Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd, unsatisfying melange of a book. The first section is a dire plod through classically terrible academic writing, made worse by the fact that the content is a basic review of Darwin's studies which every person likely to pick up the book already knows. The second sections are a pretty interesting overview of how animals make color and the author's own research with zebrafish. They'd be fine, if the branding of the book didn't imply examination of more theoretical/aesthetic questions. The illustrations are quite pretty though.

*Side note: the line edits in this book are terrible. I lost count of the times I was confused because of commas that were either missing or popping up were they shouldn't be*

[Marghe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro letto insieme al gruppo di lettura Planet Earth.

Gli do due stelle soltanto perché ha delle illustrazioni carine; per il resto, è un grande no. È un testo molto breve che tratta di estetica e colori nel regno animale. Purtroppo, in un centinaio di pagine risulta davvero incompleto: tutto è spiegato in modo troppo superficiale e sbrigativo.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was there ever a target audience ?
Charming children's illustrations,a publisher's promise of explanations for the layman (beauty and diversity in the animal kingdom) yet , finally, an all too brief explanation of stem cell research by a nobel prize winning biologist seemingly addressing grad students.......and quotes by Goethe to fill in the gaps.
This is a charming monograph, but a disappointment as a publishing event. The research is fascinating. Trying to explain it in 110 pages ? Not so much.

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

On one of the very first pages the author made the point that humans use other animal feathers and furs that are more strikingly coloured than themselves as ornamentation and that animals cannot do this. I do not wholly agree with this, as some birds such as bower birds collect colourful bottle lids and other items to decorate their nests with and crabs select old cans to live in that ay also be coloured, so I do not wholly agree that we can rule out that part of the motivation for some animal behaviour is aesthetic use of items from a different species. Later in the book he perhaps states it better and in a way I do agree with: „Personal knowledge (vanity, knowing how one looks to other people, mirrors) of ones own appearance may have been ine of the original drivers of human art“ and no other species posseses this.

Very beautiful and well done diagrams that are both beautiful and informational.


Vanity is human
The human condition is to know that one is being looked at. The observers gaze.

„An important invention among homininds is mutual observation, „shared intentionality“, when performing activities together. For this, each individual must be aware that others are observing him, and may also make himself particularly conspicuous in order to attract attention.

The first part of the book was focused on sexual selection and evolution and the distinction or lack there of of humans. The secons half was a molecular discussion of how patterns and colours arise in animals genetically. Well written and beautifully illustrated.

[Synoeca · Rating 3 out of 5]

kind of all over the place with its various subjects and not-so-seamless transitions, tho I wouldn’t call it a complete mess, ‘cause of the veeryy interesting matter it touches upon (eg. the IN-SANE mechanism of Color Change in mollusks) and the immaculate watercolors of animals.

major limitation: the second section is (imo) only accessible and clear to those with prior knowledge on embryology, cellular function and biochemical molecular processes (how does the author expect people to interpret these cross-sectionally illustrated mechanisms of Neurulation without a legenda? lol wth)

[Beatrice Tibaldini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interessante.
Ricco di pillole scientifiche, anche poco note, spiegate con una semplicità e un’attenzione alla comprensione che rende il saggio adatto anche a lettori che non hanno alle spalle un background nel campo. Breve, conciso e con tanti riferimenti alla realtà che non solo aiutano a comprendere il testo ma lasciano anche traccia sui ricordi di chi legge.
Bellissime le illustrazioni.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extended essay on the biology of color in animals. The aesthetics of color are referenced briefly too. The writing is rather dry, and geared towards the reader with a background in biology, not towards the generalist.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Biological aesthetics, like art, is a form of communication that changes continuously through the constantly evolving judgement of the observer.”

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

piacevole ripasso per me che sono del campo.. ma molto interessante per chi non conosce per nulla gli argomenti trattati.. illustrazioni molto belle 🤍

[Elisabetta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Letto insieme a GDL Planet Earth

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una raccolta di curiosità sui tratti degli animali accompagnate da illustrazioni.
Meno scientifico di quanto mi aspettassi ma è comunque una lettura piacevole.

[Frankie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/10, had too read it for school. Really hard to focus on and remember what your reading.