Global InformationNature of Man Series information
 | |
African Genesis, The Territorial Imperative, The Social Contract, The Hunting Hypothesis | |
| Author | Robert Ardrey |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Berdine Ardrey (née Grunewald) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Discipline | paleoanthropology, ethology, evolutionary biology |
| Media type | |
| No. of books | Four |
The Nature of Man Series is a four-volume series of works in paleoanthropology by the prolific playwright, screenwriter, and science writer Robert Ardrey. The books in the series were published between 1961 and 1976.
The series majorly undermined standing assumptions in social sciences, leading to an abandonment of the "blank slate" hypothesis; incited a renaissance in the science of ethology; and led to widespread popular interest in human evolution and human origins.
The first work, African Genesis (1961), particularly helped revive interest in ethology, and was a direct precursor to the Konrad Lorenz's On Aggression (1966), Desmond Morris's The Naked Ape (1967), Lionel Tiger's Men in Groups (1969), and Tiger and Robin Fox's The Imperial Animal (1971). The director of the Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program Rick Potts, cited Ardrey's work as inspiring him to go anthropology.[1]
The works were wildly popular and influenced the public imagination. Stanley Kubrick cited them as major influences in developing his films 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971).[2][3][4]
- ^ Selig, Ruth Osterweis (Spring–Summer 1999). "Human Origins: One Man's Search for the Causes in Time". Anthronotes. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ^ Kubrick, Stanley. Letter from Stanley Kubrick to The New York Times. "Now Kubrick Fights Back." The New York Times, 27 February 1972, section 2, pp. 1 & 11. Print. Retrievable here
- ^ Richard D. Erlich; et al. (1997–2005). "Strange Odyssey: From Dart to Ardrey to Kubrick and Clarke". English studies/Film theory course, Science fiction and Film. Miami University.
- ^ Daniel Richter (2002). Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001, a Space Odyssey. New York City: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 978-0-7867-1073-7. (From the Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke.)