The Naked Ape
by Desmond Morris · first published 1772
61% recommend39% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A zoologist views humans as one animal species among others. Readers find it eye-opening for seeing human behavior from an outside, evolutionary angle, and useful for building healthy skepticism about human motives.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Dans la même optique et avec le même vocabulaire que celui utilisé pour les animaux, une observation du comportement humain sous l'angle de la sexualité, de l'éducation, de la combativité et de la recherche du confort où le zoologiste démontre avec humour que l'homme est toujours un singe.
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The Emperor's New Mind, by Roger Penrose The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra Dancing Wu Li Masters, by Gary Zukav The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris The Road to Serfdom, by Friedrich Hayek The Worldly Philosophers, by Robert Heilbroner The Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant Grammatical Man, by Jeremy Campbell Zen and the Art…
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris -- a zoological study of homo sapiens. A classic nicely supplemented by Our Inner Ape by Frans der Waal.
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗"The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal". Looking at humans as just another animal through the lens of a zoologist is eye opening
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗…great soul. The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul by Douglas R. Hofstadter. Various attempts to reconcile the mind-body dichotomy and build a science of cognition. Human behavior The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, by Desmond Morris. If you ask people why they act the way they do, they will probably talk about rational, moral, idealistic justifications... but if you were…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗…opportunistically. I read multiple books at once, and this can be a problem. I have sworn not to buy any more books from Amazon this year. I borrow books from my local library. My favorite book this year is The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris, because it made me think about people and their behavior from a new (to me) perspective. His autobiography is also good fun. Why do I read? Reading properly is like entering into…
on “Do you read?” ↗…fighting/killing other tribes...also imaginary friends in the sky who demand it, nonexistent differences in DNA, etc., etc. Territorial disputes are the least imaginary of the lot. (Desmond Morris's 'The Naked Ape' is an interesting look at how human behavior relates to apes - spoiler alert, a lot of similarities https://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/... ... I've heard good things about 'Sapiens'…
on “He Was a Hacker for the NSA and He Was Willing to Talk. I Was Willing to Listen” ↗…then what, exactly, is wrong with it? To answer that you need to first define what society is for, and to do that you need to confront deep questions about what humanity is for. * Desmond Morris: The Naked Ape * Robert Axelrod: The Evolution of Co-operation * Matt Ridley: Nature Via Nurture These three changed the way I think about human nature. * Douglas Adams: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy There…
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗* The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins ; * Human, too human, by Frederick Nietzsche ; * The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris ; * La Femme est le propre de l'homme, by Rolf Schappi ; * Biologie de la mort, by Frederik Revah ; * The Manipulated Man, by Esther Vilar ;
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗Interesting selection. I'm surprised to find some of my more eclectic favorites included: - Naked Ape, Desmond Morris - Feynman Lectures on Computation - Feynman - Guide to Feynman Diagrams - Mattuck - Visual Complexity - Lima - Data Analysis - Sivia - Emergence - Jonhson
on “Bret Victor's Bookshelf (2015)” ↗"The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal" by Desmond Morris. Some stuff might be outdated but it definitely helped build a healthy dose of skepticism towards fellow humans - and towards myself. You definitely…
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗The Naked Ape
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗Well, there are guides, but none good enough that I remember. More generally, not specifically about humor, but about that kind of vision of human nature, read The Naked Ape.
on “Emoji are showing up as evidence in court more frequently” ↗The Naked Ape is a fantastic read!
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗Desmond Morris, who wrote "The Naked Ape" and some other books, said some very interesting things about human anatomy and human sexuality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Morris http://www.desmond-morris.com/
on “The Physics of Bras” ↗The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris (page 73) https://books.google.cl/books?id=FB5Ddqv8nO0C&lpg=PA74&ots=w...
on “We know music is pleasurable, the question is why?” ↗