Feral Children and Clever Animals
Price:
$49.95 (04)Description
In this provocative book, Douglas Keith Candland shows that as we begin to understand the way animals and non-speaking humans "think," we hold up a mirror of sorts to our own mental world, and gain profound insights into human nature.Weaving together scientists daries, contemporary newspaper accounts, and his own enlightening commentary, Candland brings to life a series of extraordinary stories. He begins with a look at past efforts to civilize feral children, such as the Wolf Girls of India found early this century huddled among wolf pups in a forest den. It was hoped that the study of these children would help clarify the age-old nature/nurture debate, but, as Candland shows, so much of the information "revealed" was really only a projection of beliefs previously held by the investigating scientists. He then turns to "clever animals," illuminating the boldest and most intriguing efforts yet to extend our world to that of our fellow creatures, such as teaching sign language to such precocious apes as Sarah, Sherman, Austin, and Koko.
Humans have long shown a wish to connect with the silent minds around them. In assembling and interpreting the compelling tales in this book, Candland offers us a new understanding not only of the animal kingdom, but of the very nature of humanity, and our place in the great chain of being.
Reviews
"Penetrating....A work of profound scholarship."--Thomas E. Lovejoy, Smithsonian Institution
"Fascinating."--Los Angeles Times
"Scholarly and sensitive, this is absorbing reading."--Booklist
"Beautifully written and scholarly...represents a carefully woven tapestry of work on the history of science, philosophy, and psychology."--American Anthropologist
About the Author(s)
Douglas Keith Candland is Professor of Psychology and Animal Behavior at Bucknell University. He has written for publications as diverse as The New Yorker and American Psychologist , and is the author of Psychology: The Experimental Approach (Second Edition, 1978), Emotion (1977), and Psychology (1962).
