Summary

"The Naked Ape" by Desmond Morris presents a zoological perspective on human behavior, stripping away cultural complexities to reveal our underlying animal nature. Morris compares humans to other primates and carnivores, highlighting how our evolutionary past shapes our present actions and social structures. The book explores various aspects of human life, including origins, sex, rearing, exploration, fighting, feeding, comfort, and our relationships with other animals, challenging readers to confront their basic instincts.

The book begins by examining human origins, tracing our lineage from fruit-picking forest apes to cooperative hunters. It discusses how this transition influenced our physical and behavioral traits, such as bipedalism, tool use, and increased brain size. Morris emphasizes that while humans have developed sophisticated technologies and cultures, our fundamental drives remain rooted in our evolutionary history. The chapter on sex delves into the complexities of human sexual behavior, comparing it to that of other primates. Morris explores pair-formation, pre-copulatory activity, and copulation, highlighting the unique aspects of human sexuality, such as prolonged courtship, face-to-face mating, and female orgasm. He argues that human sexual behavior is not solely for procreation but also serves to strengthen pair bonds.

In the chapter on rearing, Morris discusses the extended period of parental care in humans and its impact on our social structures. He explores the roles of both mothers and fathers in raising offspring and examines the various stages of child development. He emphasizes the importance of love, care, protection, play, and learning. Exploration is central to human nature, and Morris dedicates a chapter to this. He examines the human urge to explore the world, invent, draw, and also appreciate aesthetic beauty. He contrasts this with neophobia, the innate fear of the unknown, that is also part of human nature. Humans have been known to strike a good balance between these two forces.

Morris delves into human aggression, comparing it to that of other animals and exploring its roots in territoriality and social hierarchies. He analyses the biological changes that occur during aggressive arousal and the various signals and displays used to intimidate opponents. The analysis includes ritualized combat, intention movements, and displacement activities. Finally, the book addresses human feeding behavior, tracing the evolution of our diet from primate fruit-picking to cooperative hunting and agriculture. It explores the cultural and biological factors that influence our food preferences and habits, including our unique "sweet tooth" and the development of cooking and spicing traditions. The book ends with a reminder that our survival as a species depends on understanding and managing our basic animal urges in the face of ever-increasing technological advancements.