Man in Desmond Morris

Abstract

In Chapter I, I will first attempt to describe man as Morris sees him in The Naked Ape. I will then make some comments by way of criticism of the general conclusions Morris draws from his account. It will, I hope, become clear at the end that whereas many of the remarks Morris makes about the way man has evolved are not just interesting but also to the point, his general conclusions about what type of animal man is are much more open to critical discussion. Towards the end of the book Morris himself admits that he has 'given a one-sided picture'. But he does not seem to realize that, as a result of this one-sidedness, the whole situation he describes is thrown out of perspective. What we need in order to get the subject back into focus is not just 'the other side of the picture' , but a completely different way of looking at things. In Chapters II and III, I will deal with Morris' account of sex and aggression and will try to bring out, using what he says but also indicating the limitations of his description and the major differences between sexual and aggressive behaviour in animals and humans. In Chapter IV, following Morris, I will show how life in a modern, overcrowded metropolis leads to a shift from personal to impersonal styles of living and to the serious frustrations of many basic social and personal needs. In the last Chapter I mention the danger of accepting Desmond Morris' account of life in the human zoo fatalistically, i.e. as a structure in which man is necessarily trapped. He would not be describing a situation objectively if we did not take into account the forces which are latent within it and which, if well tapped, can bring about radical change. ·The attitude one adopts in face of the situation Morris describes is also a matter of education and varies with one's political beliefs.