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Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris Books

Zoologist

The Naked Ape

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tha naked ape

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Cat Watching

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“A true bond of friendship is usually only possible between people of roughly equal status. This equality is demonstrated in many indirect ways, but it is reinforced in face-to-face encounters by a matching of the posture of relaxation or alertness.”

PeopleWayFacesFriendshipEqualEncountersRelaxationFace To FacePostureIndirectMatchingAlertnessBonds Of Friendship
Book:Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior
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“...In little more than a single century from 1820 to 19450, no less than fifty-nine million human animals were killed in inter-group clashes of one sort or another.... We describe these killings as men behaving "like animals," but if we could find a wild animal that showed signs of acting this way, it would be more precise to describe it as behaving like men.”

IfsMenWayHumansLittlesWould BeAnimalActingMillionsGroupsCenturyKillingNineFiftyPreciseClashWild AnimalHuman Animal
Author:Desmond Morris
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“We read off the many signals that our companions' clothes transmit to us in every social encounter. In this way, clothing is as much a part of human body language as gestures, facial expressions and postures.Even those people who insist that they despise attention to clothing, and dress as casually as possible, are making quite specific comments on their social roles and their attitudes towards the culture in which they live.”

PeopleWayHumansBodyCultureLanguageSocialAttentionAttitudeRolesFashionStyleExpressionClothesDressesEncountersCompanionCommentClothingsDespiseGesturesSignalsHuman BodyPostureTransmitBody LanguageFacialFacial ExpressionSocial Roles
Author:Desmond Morris
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“The idea that it is funny to see wild animals coerced into acting like clumsy humans, or thrilling to see powerful beasts reduced to cringing cowards by a whip-cracking trainer, is primitive and medieval. It stems from the old idea that we are superior to other species and have the right to hold dominion over them.”

HumansIdeasAnimalPowerfulActingIndustrySpeciesSuperiorsBeastPetCowardVeganPrimitiveStemThrillingMedievalDominionWhipsTrainersClumsyWild AnimalOld Ideas
Author:Desmond Morris
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“It must be stressed that there is nothing insulting about looking at people as animals. We are animals, after all. Homo sapiens is a species of primate, a biological phenomenon dominated by biological rules, like any other species. Human nature is no more than one particular kind of animal nature. Agreed, the human species is an extraordinary animal; but all other species are also extraordinary animals, each in their own way, and the scientific man-watcher can bring many fresh insights to the study of human affairs if he can retain this basic attitude of evolutionary humility.”

PeopleIfsMenWayHumansKindAnimalAttitudeStudyHuman NatureHumilityParticularSpeciesExtraordinaryAffairInsightPhenomenonStressedInsultingHomo SapiensHuman SpeciesWatchersPrimates
Book:Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior
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“People who keep dogs live longer on average than those who do not. This is not some kind of pro-canine campaigning fantasy. It is a simple medical fact that the calming influence of the company of a friendly pet animal reduces blood pressure and therefore the risk of heart attack.”

PeopleHeartKindFactsFriendshipSimpleAnimalCompanyFantasyRiskBloodInfluenceDogPressureAverageMedicalPetFriendlyCanineCalmingHeart AttackPet AnimalsCampaigningBlood Pressure
Author:Desmond Morris
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“This gives the agents of the gods a powerful area of support. All they need to do is to remind their followers constantly of their mortality and to convince them that the afterlife itself is under the personal management of the particular gods they are promoting. The self-protective urges of their worshippers will do the rest.”

NeedsGivingSelfPowerfulSupportParticularAreasManagementAgentsConvinceUrgesMortalityFollowersAfterlifeAgnosticPromotingProtectiveWorshippers
Book:Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior
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“Sexual behavior in our species goes through three characteristic phases: pair formation, precopulatory activity, and copulation, usually but not always in that order. The pair-formation stage, usually referred to as courtship, is remarkably prolonged by animal standards.”

OrderThreeAnimalStageActivityBehaviorStandardsSpeciesCharacteristicsPairsPhasesFormationCourtship
Book:The illustrated naked ape: a zoologist's study of the human animal
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“The female covers her breasts, and then proceeds to redefine their shape with a brassiere. This sexual signaling device may be padded or inflatable, so that it not only reinstates the concealed shape, but also enlarges it, imitating in this way the breast swelling that occurs during sexual arousal.”

WayMayShapesFemaleIntimacyBreastsDevicesConcealedImitatingSwellingArousal
Book:The illustrated naked ape: a zoologist's study of the human animal
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“Looking back now on the whole sexual scene we can see that our species has remained much more loyal to its basic biological urges than we might at first imagine. Its primate sexual system with carnivore modifications has survived all the fantastic technological advances remarkably well.”

FirstsWellsWholeMightSexImagineSceneSpeciesFantasticUrgesLoyalLooking BackTechnologicalSurvivedPrimatesModificationCarnivores
Book:The illustrated naked ape: a zoologist's study of the human animal
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