Love and Hate: A Natural History of Behavior Patterns (Foundations of Human Behavior) [Paperback]

Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 020202038X | ISBN-13: 978-0202020389 | Publication Date: December 31, 1996 | Edition: 1st Aldine pbk. ed

The author argues that there are specific turning points in evolution. Structures and behavioral patterns that evolved in the service of discrete functions sometimes allow for unforeseen new developments as a side effect. In retrospect, they have proven to be pre-adaptations, and serve as raw material for natural selection to work upon. Love and Hate was intended to complement Konrad Loren's book, On Aggression, by pointing out our motivations to provide nurturing, and thus to counteract and correct the widespread but one-sided opinion that biologists always present nature as bloody in tooth and claw and intra-specific aggression as the prime mover of evolution. This simplistic image is, nonetheless, still with us, all the more regrettably because it hampers discussion across scholarly disciplines. Eibl-Eibesfeldt argues that leaders in individualied groups are chosen for their pro-social abilities. Those who comfort group members in distress, who are able to intervene in quarrels and to protect group members who are attacked, those who share, those who, in brief, show abilities to nurture, are chosen by the others as leaders, rather than those who use their abilities in competitive ways. Of course, group leaders may need, beyond their pro-social competence, to be gifted as orators, war leaders, or healers. Issues of love and hate are social in origin and hence social in consequence. Life has emerged on this planet in a succession of new forms, from the simplest algae to man--man the one being who reflects upon this creation, who seeks to fashion it himself and who, in the process, may end by destroying it. It would indeed be grotesque if the question of the meaning of life were to be solved in this way. As the author notes in the preface of this new edition: "I discuss the phylogenetic origin of our behavior and motivations, which provide the basis for our cultural evolution and thus for our humanitarian hopes." In language that is clear and accessible throughout, arguing forcefully for the innate and "preprogrammed" dispositions of behavior in higher vertebrates, including humans, Eibl-Eibesfeldt steers a middle course in discussing the development of cultural and ethical norms while insisting on their matrix of biological origins. Irenõus Eibl-Eibesfeldt is an ethologist who spent several years doing research in the South Pacific, Asia, France, and Africa. He is the author of Land of a Thousand Atolls and Galapagos.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Aldine Transaction; 1st Aldine pbk. ed edition (December 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020202038X
• ISBN-13: 978-0202020389
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,685,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and hate, May 30, 2005

By 

Hallstatt Prince (MA. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love & Hate (Paperback)

This is a classic that should be on everyone's reading list. I. Eibl-Eibesfeldt is the founder of the discipline of human ethology a science which studies human behavior with tools and theories used in the study of the behavior of other animals. In this book Eibl-Eibesfeldt takes on two emotions which many seem to identify as being exclusive to humanity - love and hate. The book examines these and other emotions across cultures as well as pointing to some nonhuman analogues.
Worthy detail is spent on the non verbal cues humans give to each other and how those cues have spanned cultures and history.
A wonderful offering by one of the most important minds of this century.
Highly recommended

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What makes a child cute? What makes a woman sexy?, February 14, 2003

By 

Robertson Thomas (Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, South Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behavior Patterns (Hardcover)

In this book, Eibl-Eibesfeldt examines human gestures and postures and their effect on the viewer. He backs up his claims with anthropological and zoological observations.

If there is any one great book on evolutionary psychology, this is it. Eibl-Eibesfeldt is a genius.