Samuel Viana - Lisbon, 14, Portugal (61 books)

Samuel Viana is now friends with Dora Canelas

Samuel Viana gave

to:

On Aggression
by Konrad Lorenz

read in January, 2012

My rating:

I've know about Lorenz since I was a little boy. I remember that when he died, in 1989, the portuguese TV reminded him in a TV documentary of some episodes about the life of the man that could made little goslings walk beside him and everyone feel fa...moreI've know about Lorenz since I was a little boy. I remember that when he died, in 1989, the portuguese TV reminded him in a TV documentary of some episodes about the life of the man that could made little goslings walk beside him and everyone feel fascinated by those pictures.
[image]
I've heard about is ideas on human behaviour some years after that and I reminded curious about the observations he have made about them, some like: the intraspecific competition and the way the aggression first appeared on evolution as a way to set the places in which each member of a species has its own 'vital place' (or territory, as you prefer to call it). From that, he starts to develop his thesis, giving examples about animals (starting with the fish the coral reefs), never forgetting to retouch here and there the human species. Lorenz make some paragraphs in the middle of its descriptions about animal behaviour examples just to compare the last example with some special case with the human race that looks very similar. I don't know if some examples he gives could be applied immediately to our species. I don't know.
You can read this book as a species of manifesto or a sermon . I don't forget the way he finishes the chapter four:

" As we shall hear later , this expedients often resorted to in nature to prevent the injurious effects of aggression . But the human being without insight has been known to kill his friend.
"

The title of the chapter six- "The Great Parliament of Instincts" is another slogan that I won't forget too. Of course the best of all chapters is the chapter eleven - "The bond" - where he describes goose life stories almost as they were human beings (which is very curious - because Lorenz sometimes says that the "anthropomorphizing reader" should took care in order to not interpret in a "human way" the examples done).
Some people will feel that only the three final chapters matter - the ones in which he describes the risks posed by the human race. He specially gives special attention into the "militant manifest". I heard about the potential connections between Lorenz and the Nazism that the could a initial supporter of this ideology, giving up later. Try to make your own conclusions knowing that and the condemnation of the so-called "millitant manifest". Strange, don't you think. Anyway, Lorenz never confirmed he supported Nazism in any period of his life. Just vilification !?
Anyway, I recommend the book for anyone that would like to know more about Lorenz work, the greylag goose life and just for the literary style, it deserves a read!

P.S.: just to know that I owned geese for some years ago (now I don't have anymore) and after I read this book I felt nostalgic and started to remember all of special episodes I had about that experience. I wish one day I would own geese again!(less)

Samuel Viana is finished with On Aggression: Finally I've finished this one! There's no doubt that Lorenz is, besides a great scientist, a great writer too. The way he describes the geese live is astonishing. Must people will regard his insight into human behavior based on his appointments as ethologist on the geese live as ridiculous, but I tell you that after having read this one, I will never look into geese on the same way again.

On Aggression
by Konrad Lorenz

progress:

My rating:

Samuel Viana is now following Fernando's reviews

Samuel Viana liked Jafar's review of On Aggression:

" This book was written around 50 years ago. It may be one of the earlier solid attempts in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The subject of the book is aggression. Aggression, which is between the members of the same species, should not be con... "
Read more of this review »

Samuel Viana is currently reading:

Hitchcock and Philosophy by William A. Drumin

Hitchcock and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy)
by William A. Drumin

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Samuel Viana gave

to:

John Maynard Keynes
by Reinhard Blomert

read in December, 2011

My rating:

O livro é em português, de forma que vou colocar a crítica em português. A forma e o estilo do biógrafo são directos e concisos. Pena eu não entender tanto de matéria económica, para conseguir estar mais à vontade para entrar nos detalhes das teorias...more

Samuel Viana marked as to-read:

The Tell-Tale Brain by V.S. Ramachandran

The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human
by V.S. Ramachandran

My rating:

Samuel Viana added:

Mirroring People: The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Others
by Marco Iacoboni

read in November, 2011

My rating:

Well, I can't rate this book yet because I just ordered it. The main reason for doing that is that the idea of "mirror neurons" started to fascinate me since I first read about the possibility that they could be the "organic basis" for the meme hypot...moreWell, I can't rate this book yet because I just ordered it. The main reason for doing that is that the idea of "mirror neurons" started to fascinate me since I first read about the possibility that they could be the "organic basis" for the meme hypotesis as a replicator for culture proposed firstly by Richard Dawkins and developed later by Susan Blackmore.
By now only a theory not accepted for many people, the meme theory stays on "stand by" waiting for some experimental proof, but 'til now the mirror neurons proved to be the best suited candidate for that.
Anyway, existing or not the memes, the mirror neurons are a experimental evidence, and there are many theories that want to explain most of the psychology, from the development of the infant brain (the so-called 'feral children') until the basis for the creation of understanding the mecanism of identification with the characters of a story (when we read a book, we're exercising our mirror neurons in the way they are reproducing the author's ideas in our own mind).
The mirror neurons could also be the basis for the creation of self-awareness fenomena, as proposed by the neurologist Ramachadran, which had himself written his own book about those matters.
Anyway, I started to feel fascinated by this great idea and couldn't wait anymore to buy a good popular science book about this subject. Since this book's author himself is the author of the discover of the mirror neurons, it had to be this book.
I expect when I finish this book I could have a bigger understanding of those matters. See my next review !
--
Now I can say I truely belief that mirror neurons could be held responsable for many things ! Not only the empathy, but the friendliness and all those things that you think are not so good like the crime or violence.
A word about the author: Iacoboni is not so good as Antonio Damasio in the matters of writing, but is more clear and easy to read, than Damasio. I think I'm gonna try another Brain science authors, next can be Ramachandran !(less)

Samuel Viana is currently reading:

Getting Started with Arduino
by Massimo Banzi

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Samuel Viana is now friends with Dora Canelas
Jan 24, 2012 01:15am
Samuel Viana gave to: On Aggression by Konrad Lorenz read in January, 2012	My rating:
I've know about Lorenz since I was a little boy. I remember that when he died, in 1989, the portuguese TV reminded him in a TV documentary of some episodes about the life of the man that could made little goslings walk beside him and everyone feel fa...more
Jan 23, 2012 02:33pm · see review
Samuel Viana is finished with On Aggression: Finally I've finished this one! There's no doubt that Lorenz is, besides a great scientist, a great writer too. The way he describes the geese live is astonishing. Must people will regard his insight into human behavior based on his appointments as ethologist on the geese live as ridiculous, but I tell you that after having read this one, I will never look into geese on the same way again. On Aggression by Konrad Lorenz progress:	My rating:
Jan 23, 2012 01:51pm · like · see status
Samuel Viana is now following Fernando's reviews
Jan 23, 2012 01:44pm
Samuel Viana liked Jafar's review of On Aggression: " This book was written around 50 years ago. It may be one of the earlier solid attempts in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The subject of the book is aggression. Aggression, which is between the members of the same species, should not be con... " Read more of this review »
Dec 30, 2011 01:54am · see review
Samuel Viana is currently reading: Hitchcock and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) by William A. Drumin	My rating:
Dec 29, 2011 01:12am
Samuel Viana gave to: John Maynard Keynes by Reinhard Blomert read in December, 2011	My rating:
O livro é em português, de forma que vou colocar a crítica em português. A forma e o estilo do biógrafo são directos e concisos. Pena eu não entender tanto de matéria económica, para conseguir estar mais à vontade para entrar nos detalhes das teorias...more
Dec 02, 2011 01:49am · see review
Samuel Viana marked as to-read: The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human by V.S. Ramachandran	My rating:
Nov 01, 2011 04:43pm
Samuel Viana added: Mirroring People: The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Others by Marco Iacoboni read in November, 2011	My rating:
Well, I can't rate this book yet because I just ordered it. The main reason for doing that is that the idea of "mirror neurons" started to fascinate me since I first read about the possibility that they could be the "organic basis" for the meme hypot...more
Nov 01, 2011 04:38am · see review
Samuel Viana is currently reading: Getting Started with Arduino by Massimo Banzi	My rating:
Oct 11, 2011 09:21pm

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