Reviews for Medicine of Australian Mammals: An Australian Perspective

The average rating for Medicine of Australian Mammals: An Australian Perspective based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-11-25 00:00:00 Rodrigo Garcia Fernandez This book was written around 50 years ago. It may be one of the earlier solid attempts in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The subject of the book is aggression. Aggression, which is between the members of the same species, should not be confused with the predatory behavior towards the members of other species. Lorenz, one of founders of ethology, presents a detailed treatment of aggression in animals and the purposes that it serves. Then he moves on to humans. The implication is that aggression is hard-wired in us, and we'd better acknowledge this fact and find ways to mitigate it if we want to prevent it from igniting wars. The fact that Lorenz was a member of the Nazi party and supported their ideas of racial purity doesn't help when he talks about aggression and human nature. From what I read in the book, the man who wrote this book is not the same man who was a member of the Nazi party. Regardless of his politics and what he says about human societies, this book is a great read on animal behavior. Read it for some really fascinating tales on geese and ganders. I never thought these birds were so interesting.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-01-14 00:00:00 Francis Repas Lorenz, a famous ethologist and a somewhat controversial figure for his ideas, proposes that human beings, like most of other vertebrates, are inherently aggressive and this aggression is triggered by a variety of situations. Therefore, if we understand the instinctual behavior patterns in animals, we can explain a thing or two about human behavior too. Now, this is a wonderful book. I learned about the gorgeous and aggressive coral fish, geese, rats and many amazing things about other animals. Its not until the last three chapters that he properly presents his thesis, and It wasn't convincing enough. I think aggression in humans is slightly a more complex phenomenon then in vertebrates. Our society, behaviors and drives are more intricate and cannot be explained in this context. Neuroscience and Behavioral psychology have a better chance of explaining that, but as far as Greylag goose and Cichlid are concerned, Lorenz is very adept at explaining their social hierarchies and their rites and rituals.