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great that he misunderstands most of what he sees, reads, or is told. For example, one afternoon, Ardrey and his wife roused a lioness "a few hundred yards" from a herd of browsing impala. Two of the impala came over to see the lioness as it sought another sleeping place, while the others "never for a moment stopped eating." Ardrey was amazed at this, but decided that he could not say that the impala were "suicidal" since the lioness was so sleepy. Then he adds, "Nevertheless, one can state in very nearly mathematical terms the survival value of approaching or fleeing the presence of a lion of unknown antagonism if you are an impala." This is typical of the ponderous way Ardrey covers his ignorance. Despite his claims of intimacy with
Schaller, who studied lions in Africa over three years, 1966-1969, Ardrey apparently does not know that killing by a lion (1) is not motivated by "antagonism"; (2) almost never takes place in the middle of the day; (3) is never directed at an animal which is looking at the lion; and (4) the attack never is made from a distance of over 40 to 50 yards. Ardrey will find these rules stated by R. D. Estes in Natural History for February and March 1967 or by Schaller in National Geographic for April 1969. The latter says, "The lion must stalk to within a few feet of a potential victim before its rush has much chance of success. Prey animals are fully aware of the lion's limitations. They have learned how near to a lion they may wander without danger of attack—usually to within about 120 feet. This leads to ludicrous situations . . . A visible lion is a safe lion." Need I add that Ardrey's "suicidal" impala were about 500 feet from danger. It is true that Ardrey has read a great deal about animal behavior, but he never seems to grasp what it all means, and his biases prevent him from seeing what is really there.
353:, writes: "Almost without question, Robert Ardrey is today the most influential writer in English dealing with the innate or instinctive attributes of human nature, and the most skilled populariser of the findings of paleo-anthropologists, ethologists, and biological experimenters." Ralph Graves claims " today can claim major credit for having introduced the public to the new field of ethology, the study of animal behavior and its relationship to man." Commenting upon Ardrey's legacy on the occasion of his death, the South African anthropologist
286:
returned the favor, even calling him and his school "the
Christian Scientists of anthropology" for their refusal to accept the reality of human evil: that it was an essential part of being human and could not be just wished away. We in turn were included eventually among the villains in his "new litany of innate depravity." And so it went.
27:
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nearly all the current work in Africa of paleo-anthropologists and ethologists; time and time again, a couple of his paragraphs can make vivid a site, such as the
Olduvai Gorge, which has been merely a name in a hundred articles. His wide readership has been earned, at least in part, by his mastery of the writer's craft."
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June 1967. Print. Gorer goes on to write: " is a skilled writer, with a lively command of
English prose, a pretty turn of wit, and a dramatist's skill in exposition. He is also a good reporter, with the reporter's eye for the significant detail, the striking visual impression. He has taken a look at
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said "The arguments on which he bases his conclusions are shot through with such elementary mistakes, and his definitions are so loose, that he will surely mislead anyone who takes him seriously . . . Ardrey seems to be scarcely aware of the interactions involved in biological processes and to know
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Some essays in the
Montagu volume, as well as much other criticism of Ardrey's work, claimed that, because it asserted the role of instinctual aggression in determining man's behavior, his work excused aggression or saw the human as innately evil. Ardrey differed, claiming instead that an awareness
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11 September 1970: 1. Print: "Both of these books enjoyed, along with the scientific uproar they created, a wide general readership, and Ardrey, who describes himself as a 'scientific amateur,' today can claim major credit for having introduced the public to the new field of ethology, the study of
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said "Ardrey pretends to be a scientist, or at least a science reporter; but in this book there is no more science than there is in a comic strip . . . It is true that Ardrey has read a great deal about animal behavior, but he never seems to grasp what it all means, and his biases prevent him from
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For example, he gives the impression that he is constantly exploring Africa, watching lions with George
Schaller, or chatting with the world's greatest experts about elephants. He tells us that he "made a general survey of predatory communities" in Africa in 1968, but his ignorance of lions is so
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I was a great friend of Robert Ardrey, and had been known publicly to defend his name and honor from the assault of the anti-Ardreyites, including Ashley
Montagu. ... Ashley Montagu always carefully distanced himself from what he thought were our erroneous conclusions about human aggression. We
236:
What ought to be studied, according to Ardrey, are the relations between individuals that stem from the innate and universal attributes of animal life, whereas cultural anthropologists who detect a fundamental discontinuity between mankind and other zoological species are just impervious to the
329:
A 1970 review by C. E. S. Franks said "however well written they may be, his books are neither scientific works nor the works of a scientist. Robert Ardrey has misunderstood two of the basic concepts of the new biology, "aggression" and "territory", and has misapplied them in discussing human
266:'s account, "Ashley Montagu edited two collections of writings aimed at countering the views of both Ardrey and Konrad Lorenz. ... Despite this, Ardrey's popularity did not flag, and his writings opened the fields of paleoanthropology, ethnology, and anthropology to a wide readership."
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caused significant scientific and popular controversy. In it Ardrey restated and developed his challenge to the reigning methodological assumption of the social sciences, that human behavior is fundamentally distinct from animal behavior. As he writes in
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stated, "He has made an incalculable contribution to the science of human evolution. Thousands of people around the world, especially in the United States, were made aware of the fascination and the importance of studies on man's place in nature ."
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further explores these ideas with a special emphasis on man's distinct preoccupation with the concept of territory. It goes on to elucidate the role that plays in modern human society in phenomena such as property ownership and nation building.
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New York: Atheneum. March 1967: "Specialists may well challenge details or observations here and there. But his overall contribution to public understanding of an enormous range of scientific research is of the greatest
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interview, asserted "I don't think human beings are that bad at all—I think they are absolutely marvellous. We've got to stop kidding ourselves, stop lying to ourselves, living with a delusion about ourselves."
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instead of Asia, that he is driven by inherited instincts to acquire land and defend territory, and that the development of weapons was a fundamental turning point in his evolution.
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was widely read and exerted a cultural influence. It quickly became an international bestseller and was translated into dozens of languages. Ardrey's work in general, and
262:. Montagu would eventually edit another volume in opposition to Ardrey, and the increasingly heated debate stirred popular interest in human origins. By
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Ardrey, Robert. "The
Territorial Imperative: A Personal Inquiry into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations." New York: Atheneum. 1966. Print.
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in particular, is often credited with arousing popular interest in ethology, anthropology, and human origins. Geoffrey Gorer, for example, in his
228:, "The dog barking at you from behind his master's fence acts for a motive indistinguishable from that of his master when the fence was built."
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Webster, Bayard. "Robert Ardrey Dies; Writer on
Behavior." New York: The New York Times. January 16, 1980. Print
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organized fourteen scientists to write essays in opposition to Ardrey's work (and the similarly aligned work of
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revolutionary ideas of
Darwinism which have reverberated throughout all the life sciences apart from their own.
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407:(1976). He continued to publish influential works in the field of anthropology until his death in 1980.
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said Ardrey was "a mine of scientific-sounding misinformation" and his book was "noisy and foolish".
184:, who was noted for being one of the first to describe in detail the territorial behaviors of birds.
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Tobias, Phillip. Quoted in Webster, Bayard. "Robert Ardrey Dies; Writer on Behavior." New York:
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The opposition of these two viewpoints became a major theme in the social science of the time.
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The Territorial Imperative: A Personal Inquiry Into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations
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The Territorial Imperative: A Personal Inquiry Into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations
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Fox, Robin. "Man and Aggression: A Reconciliation." pp. 233-43. In Reynolds, Larry T. et al
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Wokler, Robert. "Perfectible Apes in Decadent Cultures: Rousseau's Anthropology Revisited."
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The Social Contract: A Personal Inquiry into the Evolutionary Sources of Order and Disorder
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of human nature was necessary to truly pursue civilization. For example, Ardrey, in a 1971
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The Hunting Hypothesis: A Personal Conclusion Concerning the Evolutionary Nature of Man
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Race and Other Misadventures: Essays in Honor of Ashley Montagu in His Ninetieth Year.
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Gorer, Geoffrey. "Ardrey on Human Nature: Animals, Nations, Imperatives." pp. 66-7.
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African Genesis: A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man
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Ardrey went on to publish two more books on human origins and the nature of man,
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was influential at the time, and encouraged public interest in human origins.
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Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne de Science Politique
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Vol. 107, No. 3, Rousseau for Our Time (Summer, 1978), pp. 107-134. Print.
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actress and illustrator Berdine Ardrey (née Grunewald). Ardrey dedicated
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and the implications of this to property ownership and nation building.
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665:
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Schrire, Carmel "Ardrey, Robert (1908-1980)" in Spencer, Frank (ed.)
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Masters, Roger D. from "Professional Comments on Robert Ardrey's
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Segall, Harvey. "Robert Ardrey." Interview with Robert Ardrey in
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Graves, Ralph. "A 'Scientific Amateur' Expands his Territory."
666:"Further Thoughts on "The 'New Biology' and the Causes of War""
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wrote of Ardrey's challenge to the established life sciences:
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The Nature of Man Series at the Robert Ardrey Estate Website
783:"Strange Odyssey: From Dart to Ardrey to Kubrick and Clarke"
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597:"The Territorial Imperative, by Robert Ardrey. Collins 36s"
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Human Nature and Public Policy: An Evolutionary Approach.
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Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001, a Space Odyssey
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New York: Rowman and Littlefield. Jan 1, 1996. Print.
136:. It characterizes an instinct among humans toward
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172:(1976). It was illustrated by Ardrey's wife, the
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532:Taylor & Francis. Jan 1 1997. p. 100. Print.
728:Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist.
451:Hunt, George P. "Provocateur in Anthropology."
817:
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601:Oryx—The International Journal of Conservation
392:in connection to military-strategic thinking.
717:animal behavior and its relationship to man."
365:cited Ardrey as an inspiration for his films
361:The work influenced several notable figures.
199:, which was published five years earlier. In
195:develops the theses originally introduced in
132:is a 1966 nonfiction book by American writer
781:Richard D. Erlich; et al. (1997–2005).
430:. Digital Text International. Archived from
241:In 1968, two years after the publication of
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635:""Robert Ardrey: The Current Scheherazade""
530:History of Physical Anthropology, Volume 1.
489:"Man and Aggression . M. F. Ashley Montagu"
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633:Quigley, Carroll (October 11, 1970).
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318:nothing of the scientific method."
568:Leach, Edmund (December 15, 1966).
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377:(1971). The strategic analyst
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47:Berdine Ardrey (née Grunewald)
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574:The New York Review of Books
570:"Don't Say "Boo" to a Goose"
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142:The Territorial Imperative
771:. January 16, 1980. Print
682:10.1017/S0008423900025737
664:Franks, C. E. S. (1970).
613:10.1017/S0030605300006542
487:Barre, Weston La (1969).
455:26 August 1966: 2. Print.
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169:The Hunting Hypothesis
368:2001: A Space Odyssey
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275:The Imperial Animal
163:The Social Contract
118:The Social Contract
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726:Dawkins, Richard.
374:A Clockwork Orange
355:Dr. Phillip Tobias
260:Man and Aggression
182:Henry Eliot Howard
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846:978-0-7867-1073-7
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321:A 1970 review by
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306:A 1966 review by
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401:(1970) and
371:(1968) and
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166:(1970) and
44:Illustrator
912:Categories
851:(From the
607:(3): 241.
576:. New York
438:2012-03-24
411:References
349:review of
330:society".
94:1568361440
886:Full text
755:Encounter
580:March 20,
556:Penthouse
347:Encounter
302:Criticism
294:Penthouse
271:Robin Fox
853:Foreword
821:(2002).
794:course,
695:26 March
475:Daedalus
188:Synopsis
52:Language
690:3231638
55:English
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334:Legacy
205:Africa
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60:Series
34:Author
686:JSTOR
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841:ISBN
800:Film
798:and
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381:and
89:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
