Beast and Man: The Roots of Human Nature

Midgley’s first book, published when she was fifty-nine, argues that human beings are not the blank slates or rational angels that philosophers have pretended. We are animals, continuous with the rest of nature, and understanding our biology is essential to understanding our morality.

Why Read This

Beast and Man is the foundation for everything Midgley wrote afterward. Where philosophers traditionally drew a sharp line between humans and other species, Midgley insists on continuity. Our instincts, emotions, and social bonds are not obstacles to morality but its raw material. The book challenged both the sociobiologists who reduced human behavior to genes and the social constructivists who denied biology any role at all.

It is a longer, more ambitious work than Wickedness, and it rewards the extra investment. Readers who enjoy it will find that Midgley’s later books, from Animals and Why They Matter to The Myths We Live By, all build on the arguments laid out here.

What to Expect

A substantial philosophical argument written in clear, sometimes combative prose. Midgley does not shy away from disagreeing with Darwin, Descartes, or the behaviorists when she thinks they got it wrong. Prior knowledge of biology or philosophy helps but is not required.