The Human Animal: A Personal View of the Human Species

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BBC Books, 1994 - Philosophy - 224 pages
Everything we do has an inborn, genetic basis, and all our activities show similarities to those of other species. Man is unique, though, in the way in which he has built on these animal patterns, exaggerating and elaborating them to an astounding degree or suppressing them with damaging consequences. Morris sets out to show that, despite our inclination to believe otherwise, human behaviour is full of animal instinct and reaction, and that whatever the species, we all share remarkable similarities.

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About the author (1994)

Desmond Morris was born January 24, 1928 in Purton, North Wiltshire, United Kingdom. He is a British zoologist, ethologist, author, and surrealist painter. After Morris' military service, he attended the University of Birmingham and graduated in 1951 with a First Class Honours Degree in Zoology. In 1954, he received a D.Phil from Oxford University. After graduation, Morris was a Curator of Mammals at the London Zoo until 1966. Morris was a presenter of the ITV television program "Zoo Time" in the 1950s, but may be best-known for his 1967 best-selling book, The Naked Ape, which describes the evolution of human behavior from a zoological point-of-view. Morris has authored nearly fifty scientific publications.

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