Spring Break
'The Naked Ape' looks at the bare truth
Josh Van Dyke/Verge Reporter
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: The Verge
As advanced as human culture has become and as impressive as human accomplishments have been, at the core humans are still animals.
This is the basis of Desmond Morris' "The Naked Ape," a book that aims at examining the evolutionary basis of human behavior and social structure.
Many books leave it to the readers to determine the author's viewpoints, but Morris doesn't leave this to question.
He is a zoologist and hopes to look at humans in the same way another species would be looked at, trading emotional prejudices for a rational analysis of facts. The title of the book reflects this, with Morris' commentary starting on humankind's lack of fur.
That observation, while telling, is trivial in comparison to the observations to follow.
Morris touches on subjects ranging from human sexuality to warfare to the purpose of earlobes (they aren't there for piercing).
With only 197 pages to work with, Morris has to move quickly between subjects, but this works to his advantage.
The quick pace means that if a reader grows bored with a topic he or she will quickly find a new one, and the limited space means Morris can't load each chapter with countless technical details that many would find over their heads.
It's good that the book keeps moving forward, because the language of the book is purposefully matter of fact and thus a bit dull.
A perfect example of this is the sex section, which reads like Morris is talking about just another species of apes.
"The male pays particular attention to the breasts and nipples of the female, and the lip and tongue contact here becomes extended into more elaborate licking and sucking." That isn't the most romantic way of describing foreplay, but that is the point.
Everything is described in this way, from why people tend to go for long-term relationships to the effects of puberty.
The matter-of-fact style is a smart move, given how easy it would be to offend someone-most don't want to hear that their actions are just instincts and genetics.
Certain facts can be somewhat disturbing on their own; the comparison of lips to a certain other body part may mean you will never look at someone's mouth the same way again.
This book is better for those new to the topic, and is best looked at as general principles that require more research afterward on the part of the reader.
The outline given is sound, but an outline is all this book basically is; consider that it was first published in 1969, the broad strokes made here help it stay relevant in the ever-growing field of evolutionary biology and behavior.
To understand it, one needs to look at the naked facts stripped of emotional reactions.
Those who want to learn about our species and aren't overly bothered by humans being called animals (or better yet, those who are bothered) should consider checking out "The Naked Ape."
This is the basis of Desmond Morris' "The Naked Ape," a book that aims at examining the evolutionary basis of human behavior and social structure.
Many books leave it to the readers to determine the author's viewpoints, but Morris doesn't leave this to question.
He is a zoologist and hopes to look at humans in the same way another species would be looked at, trading emotional prejudices for a rational analysis of facts. The title of the book reflects this, with Morris' commentary starting on humankind's lack of fur.
That observation, while telling, is trivial in comparison to the observations to follow.
Morris touches on subjects ranging from human sexuality to warfare to the purpose of earlobes (they aren't there for piercing).
With only 197 pages to work with, Morris has to move quickly between subjects, but this works to his advantage.
The quick pace means that if a reader grows bored with a topic he or she will quickly find a new one, and the limited space means Morris can't load each chapter with countless technical details that many would find over their heads.
It's good that the book keeps moving forward, because the language of the book is purposefully matter of fact and thus a bit dull.
A perfect example of this is the sex section, which reads like Morris is talking about just another species of apes.
"The male pays particular attention to the breasts and nipples of the female, and the lip and tongue contact here becomes extended into more elaborate licking and sucking." That isn't the most romantic way of describing foreplay, but that is the point.
Everything is described in this way, from why people tend to go for long-term relationships to the effects of puberty.
The matter-of-fact style is a smart move, given how easy it would be to offend someone-most don't want to hear that their actions are just instincts and genetics.
Certain facts can be somewhat disturbing on their own; the comparison of lips to a certain other body part may mean you will never look at someone's mouth the same way again.
This book is better for those new to the topic, and is best looked at as general principles that require more research afterward on the part of the reader.
The outline given is sound, but an outline is all this book basically is; consider that it was first published in 1969, the broad strokes made here help it stay relevant in the ever-growing field of evolutionary biology and behavior.
To understand it, one needs to look at the naked facts stripped of emotional reactions.
Those who want to learn about our species and aren't overly bothered by humans being called animals (or better yet, those who are bothered) should consider checking out "The Naked Ape."
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