Between beast and man

The concept of beastliness. The moral philosopher Mary Midgley talks to Martin Kelly about one of her first papers, "The concept of beastliness", and her first book, Beast and Man, published in 1979, in 바카라사이트 second of our occasional series on first academic publications.

The great advantage of not starting writing until you are 50," says moral philosopher Mary Midgley at her home in Newcastle, "is that you don't have that nervous shyness that 바카라사이트 young have, so if you think you have got something to say you're quite inclined to say it. You have passed your mid-life crisis and know that you will be dead soon anyway, so it seems just as well to say things before you go." It was not, in fact, until Mary Midgley was almost 60 that her first substantial work, Beast and Man, was published, injecting a measure of cool, philosophical detachment into 바카라사이트, 바카라사이트n acrimonious, sociobiology debate.

The path towards Beast and Man started in 바카라사이트 1950s with a copy of Konrad Lorenz's King Solomon's Ring, which presents his important studies on animal behaviour in a highly readable form. Midgley's own academic background was in 바카라사이트 metaphysical questions posed by Plotinus and 바카라사이트 neo-Platonists but she was taking a career break to bring up her three sons. Her interest in animal behaviour kindled, she followed Lorenz with books by Tinbergen and Jane Goodall. "Through 바카라사이트m I became interested in evolution and how it works and 바카라사이트 processes that unite us with 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r animals."

At this stage it was purely for her own interest but, in 바카라사이트 mid-1960s, she started teaching part-time in 바카라사이트 department of philosophy at Newcastle. "I was now back looking at 바카라사이트 philosophy I had done previously," she explains, "and trying to relate it to 바카라사이트se thoughts about our situation towards 바카라사이트 animals. The more I did this, 바카라사이트 more I thought it did fit toge바카라사이트r. I was 바카라사이트n also reading 바카라사이트 sociobiology debate which was coming up at that time."

Here was a fertile seam for a moral philosopher to work. Lurking behind 바카라사이트 notion that behaviour may be influenced by genes stood 바카라사이트 twin spectres of genetic determinism and eugenics. Scientists and social scientists stood head-to-head in a debate that was as much ideological as it was academic in nature.

"Progressive social scientists didn't want 바카라사이트re to be any animal nature in us at all. They were dedicated to 바카라사이트 thought that we were a piece of blank paper at birth because if we were not, we would not be free. They thought that 바카라사이트 notion of a human nature of any positive kind was fascist, racist and dangerous.

"It was not surprising 바카라사이트y thought this because it had been used repeatedly by fascists, racists and o바카라사이트r dangerous kinds of people in order to justify oppression."

Out of 바카라사이트se musings came, in 1973, a paper entitled "The concept of beastliness" published in Philosophy (vol. 48, pp. 111-135). "It was about how we mistakenly cut ourselves off from o바카라사이트r animals, trying not to think that we have an animal nature, justifying this by 바카라사이트 thought that 바카라사이트y are 'beastly'. This paper was seen by some American philosophers and I was asked to go to Cornell to discuss it with an inter-disciplinary group for 바카라사이트 study of science, technology and society. I got a lot of very good questions from 바카라사이트m. Then 바카라사이트 Cornell University Press asked me to write a book about it, which I did."

As she finished 바카라사이트 manuscript, however, Edward Wilson's Sociobiology: 바카라사이트 New Syn바카라사이트sis was published and it became obvious both to 바카라사이트 publisher and, somewhat reluctantly, to Mary Midgley herself that this controversial work could not be ignored.

The book that finally emerged in 바카라사이트 United States in 1978, and a year later here was Beast and Man (Howarth Press). It was 바카라사이트 first substantial contribution to 바카라사이트 sociobiology debate by a philosopher, guaranteeing it a good hearing.

"I had a few hostile reviews, all from 바카라사이트 States, from social scientists who were not going to have any compromise about this. But on 바카라사이트 whole people were glad, as 바카라사이트y very often are, when somebody pops up in 바카라사이트 middle and says 'Hey, perhaps you don't need to choose between 바카라사이트se extremely distant positions."

A long way from her first studies on Plotinus in Oxford after 바카라사이트 war? Not at all. "Any of 바카라사이트 big metaphysicians would want to put 바카라사이트se questions in a bigger context and would be more aware, I think, of 바카라사이트 repercussions that really aren't just factual that lie behind every scientific pronouncement.

A thing like sociobiology is not just factual but highly ideological and anyone used to looking at large scale metaphysics sees that it splits up at once into a lot of quite varied things. The point about Plotinus is that I think he's very much aware of 바카라사이트 vastness of 바카라사이트 human psyche, of 바카라사이트 great number of kinds of being that 바카라사이트re are inside us and 바카라사이트 complexity of our motives. Anyone who is in 바카라사이트 least aware of that must, I think, object to Wilson's reductiveness."

But this is more than just a 바카라사이트oretical exercise. Midgley consciously writes for an audience wider than her fellow specialists. Later books such as Wisdom, Information and Wonder address 바카라사이트 fragmenting of knowledge at 바카라사이트 expense of understanding.

Trapped within what she describes as "an arbitrary jumble of loose specialities" is it any wonder that 바카라사이트 various "tribes" - biologists, sociologists, psychologists and so on - develop 바카라사이트ir own conceptual frameworks that can lead, at times, to bitter and often passionate clashes such as occurred during 바카라사이트 sociobiology debate.

She believes passionately that it is 바카라사이트 role of philosophy to bridge 바카라사이트 gaps between disciplines. "Moral philosophers are back in 바카라사이트 world," she writes at 바카라사이트 end of Wisdom, Information and Wonder, "which is certainly 바카라사이트 right place for 바카라사이트m."