''The Human Zoo'' is a book written by the British zoologist

Desmond Morris Desmond John Morris FLS ''hon. caus.'' (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book ''The Naked Ape'', and for his televisi ...

, published in 1969. It is a follow-up to his earlier book ''

The Naked Ape ''The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal'' is a 1967 book by English zoologist and ethologist Desmond Morris that looks at humans as a species and compares them to other animals. '' The Human Zoo'', a follow-up book by Morris th ...

''; both books examine how the biological nature of the

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

species has shaped the character of the

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

s of the contemporary world. ''The Human Zoo'' examines the nature of civilized society, especially in the

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. Morris compares the human inhabitants of a city to the animal inhabitants of a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

, which have their survival needs provided for, but at the cost of living in an unnatural environment. Humans in their cities, and animals in their zoos, both have food and shelter provided for them, and have considerable

free time Free time, traditionally usually called ''leisure time'' or ''leisure'', refers to the time when one is not working. It may also refer to: *Free time (music) Free time is a type of musical anti-meter free from musical time and time signature. I ...

on their hands. But they have to live in an unnatural environment, and are both likely to have problems in developing healthy

social relationships A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...

, both are liable to suffer from isolation and

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occu ...

, and both live in a limited amount of physical space. The book explains how the inhabitants of cities and zoos have invented ways to deal with these problems, and the consequences that follow when they fail at dealing with them. From this point of view, Morris examines why civilized society is the way it is. He offers explanations of the best and the worst features of civilized society. He examines the magnificent achievements of civilized society, the sublime explorations that make up science and the humanities, as well as the horrible behaviors of this same society such as war,

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

. This book, and Morris's earlier book ''The Naked Ape'', are two of the early works in the field of

sociobiology Sociobiology is a field of biology that aims to examine and explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics. Within t ...

, which have both contributed much to contemporary understandings of society. The Unabomber,

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...

, was heavily influenced by ''The Human Zoo''. Kaczynski’s concept of “surrogate activities” comes from Morris’s concept of “survival-substitute activities,” while Kaczynski's concept of “the power process” is based on Morris’s concept of “the Stimulus Struggle”, though he disagreed with Morris on the exact cause for social ills that result from living in such a "zoo".

References

External links

Selected quotes from ''The Human Zoo''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Zoo (book), The 1969 non-fiction books Books by Desmond Morris Science books Human evolution books Behavioural sciences