Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (Routledge Classics) [Hardcover]

Mary Midgley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0415289866 | ISBN-13: 978-0415289863 | Edition: 1

Philosophers have traditionally concentrated on the qualities that make human beings different from other species. In Beast and Man Mary Midgley, one of our foremost intellectuals, stresses continuities. What makes people tick? Largely, she asserts, the same things as animals. She tells us humans are rather more like other animals than we previously allowed ourselves to believe, and reminds us just how primitive we are in comparison to the sophistication of many animals. A veritable classic for our age, Beast and Man has helped change the way we think about ourselves and the world in which we live.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is a very important book ... Midgley has provided an urgently needed bridge between science and philosophy.' - Iris Murdoch

'A brilliant and persuasive attempt to set us in our animal context, to show us to ourselves as at home in the world, and to indicate a morality for society without religious absolutes - a morality of which we see the rudiments in our brother species.' - The Observer

'A wonderful breath of fresh air and a book for non-philosophers as much as for philosophers.' - Mary Warnock

About the Author

Mary Midgley (1919-). A philosopher with a special interest in ethics, human nature, and science, Mary Midgley has a widespread international following for her work.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (November 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415289866
• ISBN-13: 978-0415289863
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,345,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new favorite I will read again and again., June 14, 2003

By 

Kevin Currie-Knight "Education Grad Student" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature (Paperback)

Mary Midgley, one of Britian's most cherished moral philosophers, wrote "Beast and Man" at age 50. At a time where behaviorism and existentialism told the world that there was no such thing as instinct or human nature, Midgley took pen to paper after raising three kids and in observing them, realized how wrong that notion was. Kids have instincts, natures. What's more, these natures are not so far off from what we know of animals natures.

Now before I give the impression that Midgley's book is another sociobiology book in disguise, it is the farthest thing from it. The first thing Midgley does is to make it clear that phrases like "Man is JUST (substitute "merely", "only" or "simply") an animmal are not only unfair to animals, they are unfair to humans. Sociobiology even sadomasochistically revels in depressions like this. (after all, aren't we 'only' the 'third chimpanzee'?) Usually, the mistake made is to thihk that animals are 'humans that just haven't gotten there yet' or that humans are 'dressed up brutes that play at ratiionality'. Midgley spends many pages on tackling both of these assumptions, as tacit as they sometimes are.

From there, she tackles things like what it means to say 'instinct', why 'reductionism' doesn't explain much of anything, and intertwining them all with examples of why the 'lower animals' and humans have so much in common yet are so incredibly different.

In short, this book is not to be missed. It is informative, provocative, challenging and all the while written in a crisp and sensitive prose. Never has it felt so good to be called an animal.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whats the difference between man and animal?, August 11, 2002

By 

"repeatonceagain" (Dexter, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beast and Man (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading this book, you may decide that the similarities between man and beast are more important than the differences. Mary Midgley discusses many types of animals and how they compare to humans. Are you sure you are attracted to a certain behaviour because of something only inside yourself, or is it because you are moving as part of a flock similar to how birds do? When you learn something, is it because of your own experience or are you mimicking a leader like a rat does? How much better is the human race, in terms of love and compassion, compared to animals such as elephants? The exploration of these and many other questions might stun you.