Ethology Quotes

“Некоторые критики ошибочно считают, что «Эгоистичный ген» проповедует эгоизм как нравственный принцип, которого мы должны придерживаться в жизни! Другие (возможно, потому, что они прочитали только заглавие книги или не пошли дальше первых двух страниц) полагают, что по моему мнению эгоизм и другие скверные черты характера составляют неотъемлемую часть человеческой природы, нравится нам это или нет. В эту ошибку легко впасть, если вы считаете, как, по-видимому, полагают непостижимым образом многие другие люди, что генетическая «детерминированность» дана нам навсегда, что она абсолютна и необратима. На самом же деле гены «детерминируют» поведение лишь в статистическом смысле (см. также с. 44–47). Хорошей аналогией этому служит широко распространенное мнение, что красный закат обещает ясную погоду на следующий день. Возможно, что по статистике красный закат действительно предвещает великолепную погоду назавтра, но никто не станет заключать об этом пари на крупную сумму. Мы прекрасно знаем, что на погоду действует множество факторов и притом очень сложными путями. Любое предсказание погоды подвержено ошибкам. Это всего лишь предсказание, опирающееся на статистику. Мы не считаем, что красные закаты бесспорно определяют хорошую погоду назавтра и точно так же мы не должны считать гены окончательными детерминантами чего бы то ни было. Нет никаких причин, чтобы влияние генов нельзя было повернуть в противоположную сторону с помощью других воздействий.”
― Richard Dawkins, Эгоистичный ген

“Альтруизм, сострадание, сочувствие, любовь, совесть, чувство справедливости — всё это скрепляет общество, и даёт людям основания для высокой самооценки. И всё это, как теперь можно уверенно полагать, имеет твёрдый генетический базис. Это хорошие новости. Плохие новости в том, что хотя эти качества в каком-то роде и осчастливливают человечество в целом, но они не сделали человека «хорошим» видом и не слишком надёжно служат людям до конца. Скорее наоборот, и теперь это яснее, чем когда-либо, как (точнее — почему?) моральные чувства используются с отвратительной гибкостью, включаются или выключаются в зависимости от личного интереса, и сколь непринуждённо мы часто не осознаём такие переключения. Новый взгляд на людей полагает их видом, обладающим великолепным набором моральных инструментов, но трагически склонным использовать их не по назначению, и находящимся в жалостном институциональном невежестве насчёт этих злоупотреблений.”
― Robert Wright, Моральное животное

“A researcher once played a recording of an elephant who had died. The sound emanated from a speaker hidden in the thicket. The family went wild calling, looking all around. The dead’s elephant daughter called for days afterword. The researchers never again did such a thing.”
― Carl Safina

“When conflict is inescapable and it has been learned that making a "wrong" decision can have severe emotionally or physically painful consequences, then we have the makings of stress, anxiety, and aggression.”
― Brenda Aloff, Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention and Behavior Modification

“Just because a behavior is "natural" does not make it good. Arsenic is a natural component of mineral water, but that does not make it something you want to drink.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“[T]he term 'nonhuman' grates on me, since it lumps millions of species together by an absence, as if they were missing something. Poor things, they are nonhuman! When students embrace this jargon in their writing, I cannot resist sarcastic corrections in the margin saying that for completeness's sake, they should add that the animals they are talking about are also nonpenguin, nonhyena, and a whole lot more.”
― Frans de Waal, Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

“Assertive behaviors are often associated with "dominant" dogs but are, in fact, often used by dogs who are extremely insecure or under-socialized.”
― Brenda Aloff, Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention and Behavior Modification

“Stress is like an allergic person's reaction to the environment. If you have hay fever, you will probably be able to tolerate some allergens. When you really have trouble is when you are exposed to several allergens over too short a period of time. This is a classic case of "the straw that broke the camel's back". Given a number of stressors in a short time, just about any dog may behave aggressively.”
― Brenda Aloff, Aggression in Dogs: Practical Management, Prevention and Behavior Modification

“What we are mistaking for a voluntary attraction of animals to humans can be explained by the “imprint phenomenon.” This biological process, first described by Konrad Lorenz, is responsible for the fact that animals, including humans, learn species-specific information, behaviours, and skills at specific points in their development. Imprinting is how animals learn early to attach to their mothers and identify with members of their own species. It is the mechanism that allows us to domesticate animals and nurture intimate relationships with them; as long as we integrate or selves into young animals’ lives before the attachment period ends, we can divert their identification with their own families and species onto ourselves.”
― Charles Danten, Un vétérinaire en colère - Essai sur la condition animale

“When a pet is adopted within its imprint period, the attachment it felt to its mother is quickly transferred to the new owner, who steps in to meet the pet’s physical and emotional demands. Herein lies the reason pets become so instantly bonded to us. The process may seem harmless on the surface, even natural, but keep in mind that the normal progression of things would have the young animal soon beginning to detach from its parent. Whereas the animal’s mother would discourage continued dependence, the surrogate mother, the new owner, encourages it. In this way, the case of usurped identity is never followed by detachment. Quite the contrary: the whole dynamic of interactions between people and their pets relies on the maintenance of the bond. Because of this, pets remain infantile, never reaching any level of autonomy or emotional maturity.”
― Charles Danten, Un vétérinaire en colère - Essai sur la condition animale

“We still need fat in our diet, but we do not need any more fat than we needed in the stone age. Our hormones, however, beg to differ.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom Of Loki

“Without [Loki's] ability to deceive, the foresight of Oden had no power to protect Asgard. Without the ability to lie, the power of Thor stood diminished.”
― Ptera Hunter , The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“Try to maneuver against a crowd of students and teachers who have learned that an administrative meeting just ended and that food plates are still available in an open conference room. It's like a shark feeding-frenzy.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“Grooming releases endorphins--pleasant, reinforcing chemical signals. The pleasure derived from grooming seems to outweigh the pain of the occasional bite.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“Rather than expend energy on an obvious ploy, a chimpanzee can give social clues so subtle that Agatha Christie would be envious.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“Plants can be just as deceptive as animals. They play the same games of mimicry, and they obey the same rules of diminishing returns.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“Delusional group-think can help us change into what we cannot deceive ourselves into becoming on our own”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“When we tell half-truths in an attempt to maintain social norms and values, we risk losing both our integrity and the maintenance of those norms. We have to come clean with our audience if we have any hope of getting their attention and keeping their belief in us.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World

“A know-it-all attitude and presentation annihilates credibility.”
― Ptera Hunter, The Wisdom of Loki: The Art of Lying in the Natural World