What do you think?
Rate this book
So Human an Animal: How We Are Shaped by Surroundings and Events
Is the human species becoming dehumanized by the condition of our environment? So Human an Animal is an attempt to address this broad concern & explain why so little is being done to address this issue. The book sounds both an urgent warning & offers important policy insights into how this trend towards dehumanization can be halted & finally reversed. Dubos asserts that we are as much the product of our total environment as of our genetic endowment. In fact, the environment we live in can greatly enhance, or severely limit, the development of human potential. Yet we're deplorably ignorant of the effects of our surroundings on human life. We create conditions which can only thwart human nature. So Human an Animal is a book with hope no less than alarm. Science can change our suicidal course by learning to deal analytically with the living experience of humans, by supplementing the knowledge of things & of the body machine with a science of human life. Only then can we give larger scope to human freedom by providing a rational basis for option & action.
The unbelievable future
Man's nature & human history
Biological remembrance of things past
The living experience
The pursuit of significance
The science of humanity
The unbelievable future
Man's nature & human history
Biological remembrance of things past
The living experience
The pursuit of significance
The science of humanity
300 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
28 people are currently reading
1406 people want to read
About the author
René Dubos
85 books18 followersRené Jules Dubos was an American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, and humanist. He is credited as an author of the maxim, "Think globally, act locally".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 29, 2016
A very unique book dwelling on the progress and evolution of humans, their needs then and now, how are these two needs connected, what are our needs and wants, how at times the technology is imperiling the environment and and in turn going against what we really need, how really we are shaped by everything around us, etc.
It is full of great quotes and interesting observations from history.
The book is somewhat demanding to read because of the subject matter, nonetheless it is quite a rewarding read.
The book can change one's life and views; everyone should read this book to get a better understanding of how evolution, our needs, technology, environment and our activities are connected together.
Five starts.
It is full of great quotes and interesting observations from history.
The book is somewhat demanding to read because of the subject matter, nonetheless it is quite a rewarding read.
The book can change one's life and views; everyone should read this book to get a better understanding of how evolution, our needs, technology, environment and our activities are connected together.
Five starts.
February 26, 2015
I brought this along with me when spending part of the XMas break in the Riverdale area of the Bronx at the home of Mortimer Ostow as a guest of his daughter Abbie, my first 'girlfriend' in anything approaching a usual sense of the word. I had hoped her dad, a prominent psychoanalyst, would be impressed by my reading matter, Dubos being a microbiologist, but if he was it didn't show.
September 22, 2011
This book about human beings won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.
So Human an Animal was first published in 1970. This time detail can help locate many of the ideas discussed in the book. Ecology, nature, environment, human understanding and the role of science.
Rene Dubos was born France,in 1901 and lived there during his childhood and youth. He moved to the United States in 1927 and worked at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
Mr. Dubos is credited with originating the saying "Think Globally, Act Locally" .
There are many ideas covered in this book that are now "mainstream".
I really enjoy books that discuss big ideas and argue the authors point of view.
This ground breaking book is a source of ideas that many will say "How obvious!" but forget that it's over forty years old. The success of informed environmentalism can be credited to many brilliant people like Mr Dubos.
Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Dubos
So Human an Animal was first published in 1970. This time detail can help locate many of the ideas discussed in the book. Ecology, nature, environment, human understanding and the role of science.
Rene Dubos was born France,in 1901 and lived there during his childhood and youth. He moved to the United States in 1927 and worked at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
Mr. Dubos is credited with originating the saying "Think Globally, Act Locally" .
There are many ideas covered in this book that are now "mainstream".
I really enjoy books that discuss big ideas and argue the authors point of view.
This ground breaking book is a source of ideas that many will say "How obvious!" but forget that it's over forty years old. The success of informed environmentalism can be credited to many brilliant people like Mr Dubos.
Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Dubos
December 25, 2017
In this Pulitzer Prize winning book, microbiologist Rene Dubos talks about the influence of environment and the surroundings on the quality of human life. The author presents a balanced view on the positive attributes of technological advancements and their detrimental impacts on the well being of the human life. He elegantly discusses several of the relevant social issues and calls for a long term perspective while implementing new technologies. He advocates the need for through examination of the complex systems so as to enhance the human experience rather than blind economic growth at any cost.
Although the book might feel unfocused in certain areas, it proposes several novel ideas ranging from environmentalism to ecological awareness and is way ahead of its time. It’s the precursor to the widely read recent works like Guns Germs and steel, Sapiens etc. and the author covers several crucial topics with in the span of 250 pages. Although the book was written in the late 60’s, the core message of it seems as relevant, if not more than it might have seemed then.
Although the book might feel unfocused in certain areas, it proposes several novel ideas ranging from environmentalism to ecological awareness and is way ahead of its time. It’s the precursor to the widely read recent works like Guns Germs and steel, Sapiens etc. and the author covers several crucial topics with in the span of 250 pages. Although the book was written in the late 60’s, the core message of it seems as relevant, if not more than it might have seemed then.
March 10, 2019
Dubos' premise is one that while dated at 50 years past had much prescience toward the ensuing decades. The increasing tide of adoption of technology and the decline of social and environmental 'safe' aspects of the culture played prominent in this snapshot of what he saw as the past and present as well as his foray into 'futuristic' predictions for the human condition.
Unfortunately, the length of this publication was a bit short for a wide-encompassing presentation of all of the material presented... too many subjects, not enough substance. Given that, there were several subjects... and references cited to that end... to which I found myself drawn to investigate further... both from a historical perspective and from one toward which to see what the past 50 years might have either validated Dubos' thesis or negated or ameliorated them.
I've read better histories, and better presentations of aspects of science, technology and society, so in my view this Pulitzer Prize winner stands as but an interesting waypoint in the conflict of "the two cultures". I should seek out other books by Dubos.
I found it interesting that in Dubos' discussion of environmental factors that he did not mention on of the big 'wake-up calls' that was published earlier in the 1960's... "Silent Spring". Also of note was his dismissal of Buckminster Fuller, with only a passing slighting reference to one of Fuller's ideas. Both Carson and Fuller remain part of (at least of my) public conscious, but until I found this book in a used bookshop I had never heard of Dubos, despite his pioneering work in showing that bacteria could be harnessed to produce antibiotics and that he is attributed to be the author of the maxim "Think globally, act locally".
Unfortunately, the length of this publication was a bit short for a wide-encompassing presentation of all of the material presented... too many subjects, not enough substance. Given that, there were several subjects... and references cited to that end... to which I found myself drawn to investigate further... both from a historical perspective and from one toward which to see what the past 50 years might have either validated Dubos' thesis or negated or ameliorated them.
I've read better histories, and better presentations of aspects of science, technology and society, so in my view this Pulitzer Prize winner stands as but an interesting waypoint in the conflict of "the two cultures". I should seek out other books by Dubos.
I found it interesting that in Dubos' discussion of environmental factors that he did not mention on of the big 'wake-up calls' that was published earlier in the 1960's... "Silent Spring". Also of note was his dismissal of Buckminster Fuller, with only a passing slighting reference to one of Fuller's ideas. Both Carson and Fuller remain part of (at least of my) public conscious, but until I found this book in a used bookshop I had never heard of Dubos, despite his pioneering work in showing that bacteria could be harnessed to produce antibiotics and that he is attributed to be the author of the maxim "Think globally, act locally".
May 12, 2010
A little vague and sometimes feels a little unfocused and repetitive in its argument, but still an optimistic and interesting response to the environmental crisis in the late 1960s. Much more level-headed and less alarmist than other critiques of technology of the day. These days, though, we have some more interesting and in-depth books dealing with man's evolutionary history and the implications it has for our lives (e.g. Jared Diamond's works), so perhaps I'm spoiled. Still, very readable, and the message is slightly different from the point Diamond tries to make in Guns, Germs, and Steel, and it's a message that is still at least somewhat relevant.
May 2, 2010
Just ordered a new copy. I read this book probably around 1975 and only today I was able to recall the name thanks to www.abebooks.com
This book left a permanent impression and I think is very relevant in 2010 when humanity needs to find new ways to adapt
This book left a permanent impression and I think is very relevant in 2010 when humanity needs to find new ways to adapt
July 12, 2008
read God Within (*it's not a religion book as I presumed, mainly on ecology)or this one, but not both. same style, same ideas, same argument, same examples, waste of time.
February 8, 2020
Published in 1968, the book moves like you would expect an academic of that time to think: deliberately and with depth. Dubos argues that technology has moved society to a point that human needs are no longer served. This book should be re-published as an anthem for the Climate Changers. Direct, unflagging, spot-on truth: things on earth are screwed up and we can repair the damage only by prioritizing humans above technology and consumerism. The book won the 1968 Pulitzer for general nonfiction.
February 15, 2023
How we are shaped by surroundings and events?!
عنوان الكتاب باللغة الانجليزية مبالغ فيه بشده عن مضمونه ..
اعتقد مجرد للطرح الاستهلاكي….
على العموم كتاب لا باس به اقرأ مثل هذه الكتب مراراً و تكراراً بشكل متواتر لتثبيت المعلومه و يجعل من السهل هضم الكتب ذات المضمون المتشابه بشكل اسرع
عنوان الكتاب باللغة الانجليزية مبالغ فيه بشده عن مضمونه ..
اعتقد مجرد للطرح الاستهلاكي….
على العموم كتاب لا باس به اقرأ مثل هذه الكتب مراراً و تكراراً بشكل متواتر لتثبيت المعلومه و يجعل من السهل هضم الكتب ذات المضمون المتشابه بشكل اسرع
July 28, 2007
I recall reading this book in the summer / fall of 1973. It was loaned to me by the attorney who lived across the hall. I remember thinking what a remarkable, insightful book it was but looking back over the space of 34 years, I think it has a significant impact on the way I thought/think about things. Despite the fact that this book was written nearly 40 years ago and has been followed and built on by other books (e.g. Guns, Germs and Steel), I believe it is still highly relevant.
September 19, 2019
Well-reasoned reflection on human nature and technological inluences on it. Nature and nuture lietmotiffs. Pulitizer Prize winner.
I enjoyed and was educated both by Dubos, which is a high mark of achievement for any nonfiction book. Written in the 1960's, it may seem dated regarding tachnological advances and evironmental issues, However, the tragic fact that many of the problems we face today were recognized fifty years ago and never dealt with will be all too clear.
I enjoyed and was educated both by Dubos, which is a high mark of achievement for any nonfiction book. Written in the 1960's, it may seem dated regarding tachnological advances and evironmental issues, However, the tragic fact that many of the problems we face today were recognized fifty years ago and never dealt with will be all too clear.
September 2, 2012
While it seems mainstream now, all the concepts of environmentalism must have been earth shattering when it came out 40 years ago
December 10, 2014
Interesting ideas, it's neat how a book written in the 50s describes the social and environmental problems that we still struggle with today.
March 2, 2020
Beginning: learning and teaching and the wonderful paleo-world. Then it repeats itself over and over. Observational, yet full of opinion.
January 29, 2025
So Human an Animal, published in 1968, is a historical artifact worth reading for its documentation of the transition from the idealism of the 1950s and '60s into the skepticism of the 1970s and the cynicism of the 1980s. While the book is an impressively sustained argument, it does include a lot of repetition of the same points and some dated assumptions. For example, his very bleak assessment of urban life is no longer as merited because cities are actually cleaner, better maintained, and safer than they were in the late '60s.
René Dubos was a microbiologist and pathologist who discovered an early antibiotic, but was drawn to social concerns for much of the second half of his career. He has a mitigated faith in science; he realizes what most people think of as science is really just technology and engineering. The spirit of science—to always question and to never expect there to be a final, correct answer, but only the next question—is still as foreign to lay people now as it was in 1968, to our collective peril.
Dubos structures So Human an Animal somewhat like a traditional scientific paper. His hypothesis, advanced clearly at the outset, is that human beings are a product of our total environment, and because our environment is changing through time, so will we. He spends the first two chapters giving you background information; what have earlier writers thought regarding his topic. Who has embraced it and who has rejected it, and why?
In some senses his perspective is dated. For example, he is entirely unwilling to believe that human beings can ever live anywhere except on Earth. This is in keeping with his thesis that our nature is inextricable bound to physical environment in which we have evolved and to which we have been and still are continually adapting ourselves as a collective, what we call culture. In 1968 I don't think it was feasible to make or continuously recycle air and water. Dubos is similarly innocent of technologies like CRISPR or any sort of genetic modification other than that proposed by eugenicists.
Even with some of this historically artifactual assumptions, Dubos still has a lot of good things to say. He is one of the people, for example, to whom the phrase "Think globally, act locally" is attributed. Perhaps the most compelling chapter in the book, "The Pursuit of Significance," begins with Dubos quoting at length from Henry Smith's version of the famous speech by Chief Seattle. What impresses Dubos most is the tribal leader's expression of an "organic unity with their ancestral lands." While the tribal peoples seem to remember what he considers to be a proper relationship between human beings and their environment, Western peoples have forgotten it. Writing six years after the publication of Silent Spring, Dubos's message is much the same as Rachel Carson's: by destroying our physical environment, we are destroying ourselves. And we aren't just poisoning our bodies, we're poisoning our minds with monotony and a scarcity of stimulation.
In his chapter on significance Dubos, a native French speaker, faults the popular translation of Antoine de Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince. The fox tells the eponymous prince "One only understands the things one tames." Dubos insists that the French word Saint Exupéry uses apprivoiser does not mean "tamed" but instead conveys the idea of a shared experience of understanding and appreciation. This is the crux of his argument against most so-called scientific solutions for human problems. We should not be trying to tame our environment. Rather, we should be attempting to understand and appreciate it in order to further the development of our culture and thereby ourselves.
This injunction falls somewhere between the then mainstream—but sadly still prevalent—attitude of subjugating Nature through technological means to further our specious and materialistic way of life, and the countercultural approach of retreating from technological innovation in order to get "back to Nature." Fifty-six years after the publication of So Human an Animal, Dubos's middle way remains a minor path taken by few. If anything, the lay public is more suspicious of actual science than they were the year before humans landed on the Moon.
René Dubos was a microbiologist and pathologist who discovered an early antibiotic, but was drawn to social concerns for much of the second half of his career. He has a mitigated faith in science; he realizes what most people think of as science is really just technology and engineering. The spirit of science—to always question and to never expect there to be a final, correct answer, but only the next question—is still as foreign to lay people now as it was in 1968, to our collective peril.
Dubos structures So Human an Animal somewhat like a traditional scientific paper. His hypothesis, advanced clearly at the outset, is that human beings are a product of our total environment, and because our environment is changing through time, so will we. He spends the first two chapters giving you background information; what have earlier writers thought regarding his topic. Who has embraced it and who has rejected it, and why?
In some senses his perspective is dated. For example, he is entirely unwilling to believe that human beings can ever live anywhere except on Earth. This is in keeping with his thesis that our nature is inextricable bound to physical environment in which we have evolved and to which we have been and still are continually adapting ourselves as a collective, what we call culture. In 1968 I don't think it was feasible to make or continuously recycle air and water. Dubos is similarly innocent of technologies like CRISPR or any sort of genetic modification other than that proposed by eugenicists.
Even with some of this historically artifactual assumptions, Dubos still has a lot of good things to say. He is one of the people, for example, to whom the phrase "Think globally, act locally" is attributed. Perhaps the most compelling chapter in the book, "The Pursuit of Significance," begins with Dubos quoting at length from Henry Smith's version of the famous speech by Chief Seattle. What impresses Dubos most is the tribal leader's expression of an "organic unity with their ancestral lands." While the tribal peoples seem to remember what he considers to be a proper relationship between human beings and their environment, Western peoples have forgotten it. Writing six years after the publication of Silent Spring, Dubos's message is much the same as Rachel Carson's: by destroying our physical environment, we are destroying ourselves. And we aren't just poisoning our bodies, we're poisoning our minds with monotony and a scarcity of stimulation.
In his chapter on significance Dubos, a native French speaker, faults the popular translation of Antoine de Saint Exupéry's The Little Prince. The fox tells the eponymous prince "One only understands the things one tames." Dubos insists that the French word Saint Exupéry uses apprivoiser does not mean "tamed" but instead conveys the idea of a shared experience of understanding and appreciation. This is the crux of his argument against most so-called scientific solutions for human problems. We should not be trying to tame our environment. Rather, we should be attempting to understand and appreciate it in order to further the development of our culture and thereby ourselves.
This injunction falls somewhere between the then mainstream—but sadly still prevalent—attitude of subjugating Nature through technological means to further our specious and materialistic way of life, and the countercultural approach of retreating from technological innovation in order to get "back to Nature." Fifty-six years after the publication of So Human an Animal, Dubos's middle way remains a minor path taken by few. If anything, the lay public is more suspicious of actual science than they were the year before humans landed on the Moon.
December 20, 2021
This book won the Pulitzer? I both liked and disliked this book. But, it really lacked any proof too support statements, week written stories to convince the reader that an expert was speaking but clearly a biased one. Sure if experiences influence a person from prenatal forward are they all equal? Why do they vary in impact? No solutions provided!
January 16, 2024
The idea of the book is nice but I deadass couldn't get through it because it was so boring and negative. Also because it was written a long time ago there's some racist and bigoted rhetoric mentioned time and time again.
December 8, 2024
Understanding that this was written in the '60s, it's still quite applicable now in the 2020s. However, a lot of things felt like "no shit, Sherlock," but given it won a Pulitzer Prize, these observations were evidently groundbreaking for their time. Dubos was spitting toward the end, though.
September 17, 2021
So Human and animal focuses on the development of man and the impact of technology on it's development. Written in 1968 it's interesting treatise on the technology as it was just beginning and the way that urbanization could affect the human condition. It's a well written short book although it does meander at times.
September 7, 2020
Interessante, offre molti spunti di riflessione per quanto riguarda il rapporto tra uomo e ambiente. In certi passaggi però è un po' ripetitivo e ha un atteggiamento antropocentrista che non condivido. Comunque, consigliato per chi vuole trovare degli spunti per ragionare sulla crisi ambientale.
October 18, 2013
We are still struggling with the same issues: moving away from our natural roots, living in congested cities, uncontrolled pollution. No wonder people are losing it in the 21st Century.
April 20, 2017
Reading this text nearly fifty years after it was published didn't dent the value I received from it. The ideas expressed were prescient and will probably remain relevant for at least the rest of the 21st century. (In fact, I don't see how Chapter 5, "The Pursuit of Significance," doesn't remain relevant for as long as humans are reading it.) The standout sections for me were the foreword, chapter 1, chapter 5, and chapter 6. It's disheartening that such an intelligent and respectable scientist was on top of the trend toward environmental decay and a neglect for human's nature decades ago, yet we proceeded in the manner in which we have.
August 9, 2018
I first read this book in 2009. Found it to be relevant with what we are facing in the 21st century; especially "today"!
Not a book I would recommend for vacation or relaxing at the beach, as it's content is not a mind relaxer!
Not a book I would recommend for vacation or relaxing at the beach, as it's content is not a mind relaxer!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews