Social anthropologist Montagu's latest work is a celebration of
neoteny as the guiding principle of human evolution. Neoteny, a
term that Montagu uses interchangeably with paedomorphosis, is the
theory that a species can undergo rapid evolutionary change as a
result of the retention of fetal or juvenile traits in sexually
mature adults. Good old fiat-faced, small-jawed, relatively
hairless Homo sapiens looks a lot more like an infant or jufenile
chimp than like the chimp's parents. Montagu (in common with
Stephen Jay Gould) modifies the definition of neoteny by adding
that human adults also look more like their own youthful
counterparts - children and adolescents. In contrast, gorillas and
chimpanzees tend toward gerontomorphism: as they age, the apes'
jaws protrude more, their brow-ridges grow, their teeth get bigger.
Montagu cares less about physical traits, however, than about
behavior. The retardation of development that neoteny implies
underlies the vast plasticity of human development - the years of
nurturance, curiosity, exploration, educability. Here lies the clue
to the human success story. And, Montagu warns, we are in danger of
losing sight of those neotenist traits through rigid school systems
and cultural mores that restrict horizons and demand that children
grow up quickly. So a good part of the book is social prescription.
Montagu preaches a fine idealistic line about the need for schools
that would encourage interchange among successive grades in a
cooperative, supportive setting. At the other end of the scale, he
worries about "agism" - the rampant prejudices, fears, and myths
that lead to discrimination against the elderly. Here, he cites
current and good research on brain changes in aging which debunks
the idea that you lose all those little gray cells and pass rapidly
into senility. What you need is stimulation and exercise of mind to
achieve that "best that's yet to come." Montagu's points are well
taken - if only he didn't make them so often and so breathlessly.
If only, too, he didn't devote so much space to the rightness or
wrongness of pioneer neoteny thinkers like Louis Bolk. Still, even
Montagu's excesses have their proven (and undeniable, charms.??
(Kirkus Reviews)
In this new, revised edition of his landmark book, Montagu
compels us to reevaluate the way we think about growth and
development, in all its phases, throughout life. Humans are
designed to grow and develop their childlike qualities, and not to
become the ossified adults prescribed by society. Montagu
demonstrates how our culture, schools, and families are in
conspiracy against such childlike traits as the need to love, to
learn, to wonder, to know, to explore, to think, to experiment, to
be imaginative, creative and curious, to sing, dance, or play. He
also reveals the many links between physical and mental aging and
tells how to prevent psychosclerosis, the hardening of the mind, so
that we can die young--as late as possible. The best statement ever
written on the most important, neglected theme of human life and
evolution. "Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard University"
In this new, revised edition of his landmark book, Montagu
compels us to reevaluate the way we think about growth and
development, in all its phases, throughout life. Humans are
designed to grow and develop their childlike qualities, and not to
become the ossified adults prescribed by society. Montagu
demonstrates how our culture, schools, and families are in
conspiracy against such childlike traits as the need to love, to
learn, to wonder, to know, to explore, to think, to experiment, to
be imaginative, creative and curious, to sing, dance, or play. He
also reveals the many links between physical and mental aging and
tells how to prevent psychosclerosis, the hardening of the mind, so
that we can die young--as late as possible.
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