Aesop’s Animals

Wimpenny, Jo

£17.99

Despite being conceived over two and a half thousand years ago, Aesop’s Fables are still passed from parent to child today, and are embedded in our collective consciousness. The morals we learnt from these tales still inform our judgements, but have they influenced our views of the animal protagonists as well? And if so, is there any truth behind the stereotypes? In ‘Aesop’s Animals’, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables and ask whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop’s portrayal of his animals. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the latest scientific research on some of the most fascinating topics in animal behaviour. Each chapter focuses on a different fable and a different topic in ethology, including future planning, tool use, self-recognition, cooperation and deception.

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Publish Date: 02/09/2021
ISBN: 9781472966919 Category:

Description

Despite originating more than two-and-a-half thousand years ago, Aesop’s Fables are still passed on from parent to child, and are embedded in our collective consciousness. The morals we have learned from these tales continue to inform our judgements, but have the stories also informed how we regard their animal protagonists? If so, is there any truth behind the stereotypes? Are wolves deceptive villains? Are crows insightful geniuses? And could a tortoise really beat a hare in a race?In Aesop’s Animals, zoologist Jo Wimpenny turns a critical eye to the fables to discover whether there is any scientific truth to Aesop’s portrayal of the animal kingdom. She brings the tales into the twenty-first century, introducing the latest findings on some of the most fascinating branches of ethological research – the study of why animals do the things they do. In each chapter she interrogates a classic fable and a different topic – future planning, tool use, self-recognition, cooperation and deception – concluding with a verdict on the veracity of each fable’s portrayal from a scientific perspective. By sifting fact from fiction in one of the most beloved texts of our culture, Aesop’s Animals explores and challenges our preconceived notions about animals, the way they behave, and the roles we both play in our shared world.

Additional information

Weight 492 g
Dimensions 216 × 135 × 36 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

368

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

398.369 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K