Description
Konrad Lorenz is perhaps the foremost living authority on ethology, the study of the comparative psychology of men and other animals. His early work in this field was accomplished during a period of controversy between the vitalist and mechanistic schools, and his conclusions led the way to a rational settlement between the two extremes.
This second volume of his collected papers reveals the implications of etho-logical research for other sciences, including epistemology. The topics covered are comparative studies of the motor patterns of Anatinae, part and parcel in animal and human societies, psychology and phylogeny, methods of approach to the problems of behaviour, and Gestalt perception as a source of scientific know-ledge. Also included is an investigation of whether animals possess powers of subjective experience.
Konrad Lorenz is as well-known to the public for his previous books, King Solomon’s Ring and On Aggression, as he is to the scientific world for his research, his teaching, and the number of his former pupils who have attained distinction in this field.
