On Aggression (Harvest Book, Hb 291) (Paperback)

~ Konrad Lorenz (Author) "My childhood dream of flying is realized: I am floating weightlessly in an invisible medium, gliding without effort over sunlit fields..." (more)
Key Phrases: triumph rite, triumph ceremony, cultural ritualization, Helga Fischer, Charles Darwin, Erich von Holst (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Packed with entrancing detail, profound wisdom and deft humour ... the book is a masterpiece. – The Guardian

Packed with entrancing detail, profound wisdom and deft humor . The book is a masterpiece.
–The Guardian --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

In this remarkable study, Professor Lorenz, naturalist by profession and Darwinian by conviction, presents the results of his inquiry into the aggressive behavior of animals. And, in so doing, relates his findings to the complicated nature of man and modern society. By exploring each species on an ascending scale, he admirably demonstrates that aggressive tendencies are an essential part of the life-preserving process: i.e. the "intra-specific" or fights within a group which allows for a normal distribution of abilities comparable to the practical effect of having only the necessary number of doctors within a small town. He particularizes about animals whose behavioral patterns are most analogous to man's - the rat with its transmission of experience and the astonishingly comparable Greylag Goose whose norms of behavior, right down to the absurd details of falling in love, strife for ranking order, jealousy, grieving etc., are the same. But the author views man as perhaps less fortunate since we are in the dangerous position of too much, too soon, and nature's safeguards, the inhibiting mechanisms against aggression which generally accompany increased power among the lower orders, have not caught up with man's means for destruction. We lack this and/or adequate catharsis for our "essential" aggressive tendencies. But the author offers some intelligent solutions as the "hope that the long-sought missing link between animals and the really humane being is ourselves." Provocative, educational and genuinely readable. (Kirkus Reviews )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books; 1 edition (October 23, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156687410
• ISBN-13: 978-0156687416
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #493,893 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On Aggression, February 28, 2005

By	Richard Cunningham (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best known book by the Nobel Prize winning researcher Konrad Lorenz. Although some of his ideas may have become superceded by the Richard Dawkin's school of Ethology/SocioBiology (Dawkins wrote the excellent "The Selfish Gene", "The Extended Phenotype", "The Blind Watchmaker", and "River Out Of Eden" among others), they both collaborated with the renowned Nobel Prize winner, Niko(laas) Tinbergen. Essential reading for understanding species behavior and interaction.

Lorenz became active in the Green Party as an environmental advocate. For those interested primarily with his views on human ecology and civilization, a good follow up book to this is "Civilized Man's Eight Deadly Sins"(1974).

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book., August 5, 1999

By A Customer

Is TV to blame for human violence? Some people believe so. But in the countries with censored violence-free media the crime rate is even worse. According to the author aggression is innate, it evolved because environment made it necessary for the survival of the species. Aggression is also responsible for the development of personal relationships: one has to know whom not to kill. If there was no aggression there would be no biological need for friendship. The author proves his explanation of human behavior using numerous observations on various animal species, including the species that exhibit aggression and the ones that don't.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant today, June 9, 2007

By	Matthew Smith "Roger Mexico" (TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: On Aggression (Routledge Classics) (Paperback)

Very in depth and detailed book. You can tell two things from reading this.

1. That Konrad Lorenz loved what he did and did it with a passion unlikely to be exceeded by anyone.

2. That he didn't miss much of anything.

This is not my field so keep in mind this review is for the amateur like me. The book bogs down a little in places due to the detail the author emphasizes. This attention to detail is, of course, also what makes the book so good. It is the little details and observing every little movement and action then using the information gathered through those thousands of hours of close scrutiny to form conclusions as to why animals behave the way they do that makes this work a time tested masterpiece. My warning would be to be ready for this level of detail and you will be rewarded with a deeper understanding of the world around you and our own nature. The difficulty of the book is far exceeded by the rewards gained.