The Foundations of Ethology

The Foundations of Ethology PDF Author: K. Lorenz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3709136717
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
This book is a contribution to the history of ethology-not a definitive history, but the personal view of a major figure in that story. It is all the more welcome because such a grand theme as ethology calls for a range of perspectives. One reason is the overarching scope of the subject. Two great questions about life that constitute much of biology are "How does it work (structure and function)?" and "How did it get that way (evolu tion and ontogeny)?" Ethology addresses the antecedent of "it. " Of what are we trying to explain the mechanism and development? Surely behav ior, in all its wealth of detail, variation, causation, and control, is the main achievement of animal evolution, the essential consequence of animal structure and function, the raison d' etre of all the rest. Ethology thus spans between and overlaps with the ever-widening circles of ecol ogy over the eons and the ever-narrowing focus of physiology of the neurons. Another reason why the history of ethology needs perspectives is the recency of its acceptance. For such an obviously major aspect of animal biology, it is curious how short a time-less than three decades-has seen the excitement of an active field and a substantial fraternity of work ers, the addition of professors and courses to departments and curricula in biology (still far from universal}, and the normal complement of spe cial journals, symposia, and sessions at congresses.

Perspectives in Ethology

Perspectives in Ethology PDF Author: P.P.G Bateson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780306429484
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Nine chapters on diverse topics that include: an analysis of whether sociobiology has killed ethology or revitalized it; aims, limitations, and the future of ethology and comparative ethology; the tyranny of anthropocentrism; psychoimmunology; gender differences in behavior; behavioral development.

Patterns of Behavior

Patterns of Behavior PDF Author: Richard W. Burkhardt
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226080900
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 649

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Book Description
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Growing Points Ethology

Growing Points Ethology PDF Author: P. P. G. Bateson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521212878
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
First published in 1976, this volume is a collection of essays by some of the most prominent and active ethologists. It is organized into four sections: motivation and perception, function and evolution, development, and human social relationships. The first three sections reflect the four questions which are basic to ethology: what were the immediate causes of a behaviour pattern; what is its biological function; how did it evolve; and how did it develop in the individual? The last section involves questions of all four types. The sections are introduced and linked by editorials and the book concludes with an important statement on asking the right questions. The essays are forward looking and identify areas of importance for the study of behaviour. The volume is a source of formative ideas for students, their teachers and research workers in a wide variety of disciplines in the biological psychological and social sciences.

Human Ethology

Human Ethology PDF Author: Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 135151444X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 1301

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Book Description
With the discovery of conditioned reflexes by I. P. Pavlov, the possibilities for experimenting, following the example set by the classical, exact sciences, were made available to the behavioral sciences. Many psychologists hoped that the component parts of behavior had also been found from which the entire, multifaceted cosmos of behavior could then be constructed. An experimentally oriented psychology subsequently developed including the influential school of behaviorism.This first text on human ethology presents itself as a unified work, even though not every area could be treated with equal depth. For example, a branch of ethology has developed in the past decade which places particular emphasis on ecology and population genetics. This field, known as sociobiology, has enriched discussion beyond the boundaries of behavioral biology through its stimulating, and often provocative, theses.After vigorous debates between behaviorists, anthropologists, and sociologists, we have entered a period of exchange of thoughts and a mutual approach, which in many instances has led to cooperative projects of researchers from different disciplines. This work offers a biological point of view for discussion and includes data from the author's cross-cultural work and research from the staff of his institute. It confirms, above all else, the astonishing unity of mankind and paints a basically positive picture of how we are moved by the same passions, jealousies, friendliness, and active curiosity.The need to understand ourselves has never been as great as it is today. An ideologically torn humanity struggles for its survival. Our species, does not know how it should compensate its workers, and it experiments with various economic systems, constitutions, and forms of government. It struggles for freedom and stumbles into newer conflicts. Population growth is apparently completely out of hand, and at the same time many resources are being depleted. We must consider our existence rati

The Cognitive Animal

The Cognitive Animal PDF Author: Marc Bekoff
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262523226
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 508

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Book Description
The fifty-seven original essays in this book provide a comprehensive overview of the interdisciplinary field of animal cognition. The contributors include cognitive ethologists, behavioral ecologists, experimental and developmental psychologists, behaviorists, philosophers, neuroscientists, computer scientists and modelers, field biologists, and others. The diversity of approaches is both philosophical and methodological, with contributors demonstrating various degrees of acceptance or disdain for such terms as "consciousness" and varying degrees of concern for laboratory experimentation versus naturalistic research. In addition to primates, particularly the nonhuman great apes, the animals discussed include antelopes, bees, dogs, dolphins, earthworms, fish, hyenas, parrots, prairie dogs, rats, ravens, sea lions, snakes, spiders, and squirrels. The topics include (but are not limited to) definitions of cognition, the role of anecdotes in the study of animal cognition, anthropomorphism, attention, perception, learning, memory, thinking, consciousness, intentionality, communication, planning, play, aggression, dominance, predation, recognition, assessment of self and others, social knowledge, empathy, conflict resolution, reproduction, parent-young interactions and caregiving, ecology, evolution, kin selection, and neuroethology.

Species of Mind

Species of Mind PDF Author: Colin Allen
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262511087
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The heart of this book is the reciprocal relationship between philosophical theories of mind and empirical studies of animal cognition. Colin Allen (a philosopher) and Marc Bekoff (a cognitive ethologist) approach their work from a perspective that considers arguments about evolutionary continuity to be as applicable to the study of animal minds and brains as they are to comparative studies of kidneys, stomachs, and hearts. Cognitive ethologists study the comparative, evolutionary, and ecological aspects of the mental phenomena of animals. Philosophy can provide cognitive ethology with an analytical basis for attributing cognition to nonhuman animals and for studying it, and cognitive ethology can help philosophy to explain mentality in naturalistic terms by providing data on the evolution of cognition. This interdiscipinary approach reveals flaws in common objections to the view that animals have minds. The heart of the book is this reciprocal relationship between philosophical theories of mind and empirical studies of animal cognition. All theoretical discussion is carefully tied to case studies, particularly in the areas of antipredatory vigilance and social play, where there are many points of contact with philosophical discussions of intentionality and representation. Allen and Bekoff make specific suggestions about how to use philosophical theories of intentionality as starting points for empirical investigation of animal minds, and they stress the importance of studying animals other than nonhuman primates.

The Genesis of Animal Play

The Genesis of Animal Play PDF Author: Gordon M. Burghardt
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262025434
Category : Animal behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
A scientist examines the origins and evolutionary significance of play in humans and animals.

Perspectives on Animal Behavior

Perspectives on Animal Behavior PDF Author: Judith Goodenough
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description
This work contains both contemporary research findings and historical experimental evidence. It includes the topic animal awareness, and there is requisite background material on genetics and other basic molecular topics.

Principles of Animal Behavior

Principles of Animal Behavior PDF Author: Lee Alan Dugatkin
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393922332
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 10

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Book Description
Principles of Animal Behavior has long been considered the most current and engaging introduction to animal behavior. The Third Edition is now also the most comprehensive and balanced in its approach to the theoretical framework behind how biologists study behavior.