The Animal Within Us: Lessons About Life from Our Animal Ancestors [Hardcover]

Jay D. Glass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

The Animal Within Us gives the reader an entertaining and provocative understanding of the human mind. Whether it is our belief and prayers to God, our relationships with the opposite sex, or our careers, Dr. Glass shows us what we can learn about our lives from our animal kin.

Answers are provided to the following and other significant questions about why we think, feel, and act the way that we do:

Are men really afraid of intimacy?
Is teenage rebellion just a passing hormonal state?
Was communism doomed to failure by our biological need for private property?
Is the gay revolution as genetically predestined as having five fingers on our hands?
Do we get on our knees to pray to our Supreme Being for the same reason a dog lowers his head in front of his master?

With dual careers first as a scientist and then a businessman, Dr. Glass has the academic training and real-world experiences that have allowed him to discover unique insights into the origins of our human mind and our human behavior.

Learn how to have your own tail wagging with joy by reading The Animal Within Us.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Referring to the animal kingdom in this confident debut, neuroscientist and venture capitalist Glass reduces human behavior into the bio-behavioral imperatives of claiming territory, establishing social dominance and sexual mating. Presenting his work as both groundbreaking theory and a self-help guide, Glass attempts to demonstrate how virtually every decision we make and every thought we have, however pragmatic or spiritual, is rooted in a group of biological imperatives that are hardwired in our essentially animal brains. According to the author's model, we seek to expand and protect our territory, and to continue our genetic line and secure a position within the "pack"; what's left is, for the most part, intellectualized small talk. We believe in God, Glass maintains, "in order to have a way in which we can act out our supplicant behaviors (prayer) to a symbol (God) of the forces that exact control over our lives." While Glass argues well for his theories, readers may balk at his reductionism, and at assertions like this: "The mid-life crisis is simply a middle-aged adult's realization that their dreams of dominance when they began their careers some 15 years earlier will never be achieved. When we make a mid-life career change for whatever complex and rational reasons, we are simply looking for another arena in which to try once again to become leader of the pack." Glass, who switched careers from neuroscience to venture capitalism, may be drawing on his own experience here, but he neglects to discuss properly mid-life stories in which people who have achieved great success suddenly find that success shallow. In addition, Glass fails to consider fully the intriguing question of how adoption of his thesis could transform not only our emotional well-being, but society as a whole.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The Animal Within Us gives us a comprehensive, comparative insight of how similar the animal and human are. A wonderful and at times terrifying thought. -- Tippi Hedren

A refreshing, delightful approach to what drives the species from a distillation of psychology, neuropsychology, and business world experience. -- Richard Weddige, M.D., Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center

This is a well written and researched book. It will help the inquiring mind to better understand our place in nature and it sheds light on the origins of certain primitive emotions that can lead to action. -- Jane Goodall, Ph.D.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Donington Pr Ltd Inc (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966053664
• ISBN-13: 978-0966053661
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,107,235 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bypass this one., April 2, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Animal Within Us: Lessons About Life from Our Animal Ancestors (Hardcover)

Let me say outright that I didn't get past the fifth chapter, or "lesson" as the author calls them. After hinting that this would book would use scientific and rational means, the author indulged in vague and undefined statements like, "We each have a soul...the animals have no soul..." Huh? I suppose it could work as a children's book. I think many adults drawn to this subject will find it simplistic and trite, so I would recommend other books for them. Perhaps The Moral Animal (a good introduction to Evolutionary Psychology), The Adapted Mind (a bit weightier), and/or The Biological Basis of Human Behaviour (quite technical in spots).

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating!, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Animal Within Us: Lessons About Life from Our Animal Ancestors (Hardcover)

Although Dr. Glass fastens himself securely to the extreme end of an important debate, the fact remains that his subject is probably the foremost intellectual question of our time, and his book is ultimately quite provocative. Is there such a thing as progress, as we have come to define it? Spirituality? Emotion? Are we one hundred percent composed of and motivated by chemicals in our brain we have had since birth, handed down directly to us from our animal ancestors? Dr. Glass may think so. I don't know if I absolutely agree, but he's making me think. He's making me forget momentarily about politics, scandal, and cult of personality and drawing me into some fundamental issues of the human condition. A welcome break. More talented writers and thinkers should follow your lead, sir. One question, Dr. Glass: did you write this book so you could get laid?

4.0 out of 5 stars understandable, mind blowing insight into religion, July 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Animal Within Us: Lessons About Life from Our Animal Ancestors (Hardcover)

I found this book very readable and every page seemed to have a new idea that was worth putting the book down and thinking about. In particular the idea that our religous beliefs are a part of our genes is startling and seemed to make sense. I am still thinking through many of the ideas since if the author is right, they will have a profound influence on my life. Highly recommend