Are Men Animals

"Boys will be boys," the saying goes -- but what does that actually mean? A leading anthropologist investigates Why do men behave the way they do? Is it their male brains? Surging testosterone? From vulgar locker-room talk to mansplaining to sexual harassment, society is too quick to explain male behavior in terms of biology. In Are Men Animals?, anthropologist Matthew Gutmann argues that predatory male behavior is in no way inevitable. Men behave the way they do because culture permits it, not because biology demands it. To prove this, he embarks on a global investigation of masculinity. Exploring everything from the gender-bending politics of American college campuses to the marriage markets of Shanghai and the women-only subway cars of Mexico City, Gutmann shows just how complicated masculinity can be. The result isn't just a new way to think about manhood. It's a guide to a better life, for all of us.

"Boys will be boys," the saying goes -- but what does that actually mean? A leading anthropologist investigates Why do men behave the way they do? Is it their male brains? Surging testosterone? From vulgar locker-room talk to mansplaining to sexual harassment, society is too quick to explain male behavior in terms of biology. In Are Men Animals?, anthropologist Matthew Gutmann argues that predatory male behavior is in no way inevitable. Men behave the way they do because culture permits it, not because biology demands it. To prove this, he embarks on a global investigation of masculinity. Exploring everything from the gender-bending politics of American college campuses to the marriage markets of Shanghai and the women-only subway cars of Mexico City, Gutmann shows just how complicated masculinity can be. The result isn't just a new way to think about manhood. It's a guide to a better life, for all of us.

Maxan, a cunning fox, stalks the Leoran capital city of Crosswall as a “shadow”—a lone operative for the city guard who must never be seen or heard, and never engage with the enemy. But when he’s caught in an explosion that levels a city block, the fox ignores his mission and retrieves a dangerous artifact that could bring the whole planet of Herbridia to its knees: the relay, a weapon that turns civilized animals into savage beasts. Maxan must fight to keep the mysterious relay from falling into the hands of those who would abuse its power. There’s just one problem: he doesn’t know who to trust, or why he alone is immune to the deadliest weapon in the world. With Leora on the brink of a massive civil war, can Maxan find his allies in time to save animalkind from itself?

The International Symposium on "The Use of Space by Animals and Men," sponsored by the Animal Behavior Society, took place at the 135th Annual Meeting of the AAAS in Dallas, Texas, on December 29-31, 1968. This book presents the text of all papers and edited discus sions, as well as the contributions made by several individuals who were unable ·to attend the Symposium. The idea of holding the Symposium evolved following my presenta tion of a paper to the Animal Behavior Society in 1965 [2] on the use of space by psychiatric patients. Members in attendance at that ses sion, chaired by G. Gottlieb, shared his interest in my compilation of human data presented in a measurable spatial context. This plea sant experience persuaded me that a discussion of space might be shared as a frame of reference which could open avenues of communica tion between behavioral scientists, the design community, and the de cision makers in our society.

This book is a treasury of spirituality for all ages. A book that reveals the mysteries of God concerning man, animals and salvation. It features 52 historical accounts of the lives of holy men and women who were graced to live with wild animals in a state of blessedness on earth.

In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science—and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. Witty, playful, and daring, this book will revolutionize our understanding of sexuality. Roughgarden argues that principal elements of Darwinian sexual selection theory are false and suggests a new theory that emphasizes social inclusion and control of access to resources and mating opportunity. She disputes a range of scientific and medical concepts, including Wilson's genetic determinism of behavior, evolutionary psychology, the existence of a gay gene, the role of parenting in determining gender identity, and Dawkins's "selfish gene" as the driver of natural selection. She dares social science to respect the agency and rationality of diverse people; shows that many cultures across the world and throughout history accommodate people we label today as lesbian, gay, and transgendered; and calls on the Christian religion to acknowledge the Bible's many passages endorsing diversity in gender and sexuality. Evolution's Rainbow concludes with bold recommendations for improving education in biology, psychology, and medicine; for democratizing genetic engineering and medical practice; and for building a public monument to affirm diversity as one of our nation's defining principles.

“Is the tick a machine or a machine operator? Is it a mere object or a subject?” With these questions, the pioneering biophilosopher Jakob von Uexküll embarks on a remarkable exploration of the unique social and physical environments that individual animal species, as well as individuals within species, build and inhabit. This concept of the umwelt has become enormously important within posthumanist philosophy, influencing such figures as Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Deleuze and Guattari, and, most recently, Giorgio Agamben, who has called Uexküll “a high point of modern antihumanism.” A key document in the genealogy of posthumanist thought, A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans advances Uexküll’s revolutionary belief that nonhuman perceptions must be accounted for in any biology worth its name; it also contains his arguments against natural selection as an adequate explanation for the present orientation of a species’ morphology and behavior. A Theory of Meaning extends his thinking on the umwelt, while also identifying an overarching and perceptible unity in nature. Those coming to Uexküll’s work for the first time will find that his concept of the umwelt holds new possibilities for the terms of animality, life, and the framework of biopolitics.