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The Cannibal within (Paperback, New)
Loot Price: R1,472
Discovery Miles 14 720
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The Cannibal within (Paperback, New)
Series: Evolutionary Foundations of Human Behavior Series
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Donate to Against Period Poverty
Total price: R1,492
Discovery Miles: 14 920
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"The Cannibal Within" offers an evolutionary account of the
propensity of human beings, in extreme circumstances to eat other
human beings, despite the strong Western taboo against such
practices. What sets this volume apart from the large body of
literature on cannibalism, both popular and anthropological, is the
underlying premise: cannibalism as an alternative to starvation is
tacitly condoned by the same biological morality that would condemn
cannibalism of other sorts in non-threatening situations. Deep as
the taboos may be, the survival instinct runs even deeper.
The title of the book reflects the author's belief that
cannibalism is not a pathology that erupts in psychotic
individuals, but is a universal adaptive strategy that is
evolutionarily sound. The cannibal is within all of us, and
cannibals are within all cultures, should the circumstances demand
cannibalism's appearance and usage. Petrinovich's work is rich in
historical detail, and rises to a level of theoretical
sophistication in addressing a subject too often dealt with in
sensationalist terms.
The major instances in which survival cannibalism has occurred
convinced the author that there is a consistent pattern and a
uniform regularity of order in which different kinds of individuals
are consumed. In considering who eats whom, when, and under what
circumstances, this regularity appears, and it is consistent with
what would be expected on the basis of evolutionary or Darwinian
theory. In short, he concludes that starvation cannibalism is not a
manifestation of the chaotic, psychotic behavior of individuals who
are driven to madness, but reveals underlying characteristics of
evolved human beings.
"Lewis Petrinovich" is professor emeritus in the Department of
Psychology of the University of California, Riverside and is
currently a resident of Berkeley, California.
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