Cannabis Ruderalis

thcscience_admin
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Aquatic ape hypothesis: tried to remove objections to its impartiality
→‎Aquatic ape hypothesis: split to two sections, rewrote to give less emphasis on idea that AAH is accepted, main article, citation templates
Line 22: Line 22:
Morgan was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to education.<ref>{{LondonGazette |issue=59090 |date=13 June 2009 |startpage=12 |supp=yes |notarchive=yes}}</ref>
Morgan was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to education.<ref>{{LondonGazette |issue=59090 |date=13 June 2009 |startpage=12 |supp=yes |notarchive=yes}}</ref>


==Aquatic ape hypothesis==
==Advocacy for the aquatic ape hypothesis==
{{main|aquatic ape hypothesis}}
Morgan first became drawn into scientific writing when reading popularizers of the [[savanna theory|savannah hypothesis]] of [[human evolution]] such as [[Desmond Morris]]. She described her reaction as one of irritation because the explanations were largely male-centered. For instance, she thought that if humans lost their hair because they needed to sweat while chasing game on the savannah that did not explain why women should also lose their hair as, according to the savannah hypothesis, they would be looking after the children. On re-reading Desmond Morris's ''[[The Naked Ape (book)|The Naked Ape]]'' she encountered a reference to a hypothesis that humans had for a time gone through a water phase, the so-called [[aquatic ape hypothesis]]. She contacted Morris on this and he directed her to [[Alister Hardy]]. Her first book ''The Descent of Woman'' (1972) was originally planned to pave the way for Hardy's more academic book, but Hardy never published his book. At first she was accused of using sloppy and unscientific methods in her scientific writing. She accepted this criticism and so her later books were written on more scientific basis or more "po-faced" as she herself described it. As an outsider and a non-scientist she claims to have encountered hostility from academics. Consequently many of her books seem to be written as much to counter the many arguments put forth against the Aquatic Ape Theory as to advance its merits. Her position is summarised in her website <ref>[http://www.elainemorgan.me.uk Elaine Morgan's web site]</ref>. The story of Morgan's quest to have the aquatic ape hypothesis taken seriously was chronicled in the 1998 BBC documentary "The Aquatic Ape".
Morgan first became drawn into scientific writing when reading popularizers of [[human evolution]] such as [[Desmond Morris]]. She described her reaction as one of irritation because the explanations were largely male-centered. Morris's book ''[[The Naked Ape (book)|The Naked Ape]]'' mentioned the idea that humans may have undergone a phase of adaptation to living in water, and in 1972 wrote her first book on the subject of the aquatic ape hypothesis, ''The Descent of Woman. Morgan went on to write five more books on the topic, but the idea was never accepted within [[paleontology]] as a viable hypothesis. The story of Morgan's work on the aquatic ape hypothesis was chronicled in the 1998 BBC documentary "The Aquatic Ape" and in 2009 presented a [[TED (conference)|TED lecture]] on the topic.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ted.com/talks/elaine_morgan_says_we_evolved_from_aquatic_apes.html | title = Elaine Morgan says we evolved from aquatic apes | publisher = [[TED (conference)|Technology, Entertainment, Design conference]] | date = 2009-07-01 | accessdate = 2009-09-24 | last = Morgan | first = E}}</ref>

Although some critics still remain,<ref>[http://www.aquaticape.org/quotes.html Web-site by an opponent]</ref> her opinions are now being considered by a broader audience and have achieved some recognition in academic circles. In 1999, for example, Morgan was invited to speak at Tufts University,<ref name="new sci">[http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18624962.000-interview-the-natural-optimist.html?full=true ''New Scientist'' 25 April 2005]</ref> Harvard University,<ref name="new sci" /> and the University of Ghent, Belgium, at the "Symposium of Water and Human Evolution".<ref>''Human Evolution'', publisher: Springer, ISSN 0393-9375 Volume 15, Numbers 3-4 / July, 2000 </ref> In 2004 [[Colin Groves]], Professor of Biological [[Anthropology]] at the [[Australian National University]] in [[Canberra]], [[Australia]] with co-author [[David W. Cameron]] stated that

''"..nor can we exclude the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH). Elaine Morgan has long argued that many aspects of human anatomy are best explained as a legacy of a semi-aquatic phase in the proto-human trajectory, and this includes upright posture to cope with increased water depth as our ancestors foraged farther and further from the lake or seashore. At first, this idea was simply ignored as grotesque, and perhaps as unworthy of discussion because proposed by an amateur. But Morgan's latest arguments have reached a sophistication that simply demands to be taken seriously (Morgan 1990, 1997). And although the authors shy away from more speculative reconstructions in favour of phylogenetic scenarios, we insist that the AAH take its place in the battery of possible functional scenarios for hominin divergence."''<ref>{{cite book | last = Groves| first = Colin (with David W.Cameron) | title = Bones, Stones and Molecules | year = 2004 | publisher = Elsevier Academic Press | isbn = 0 121 56933 0 | page = 400}}</ref>


==Other work==
Her most recent book, ''Pinker's List'', is a response to [[Steven Pinker]]'s ''[[The Blank Slate]]'', in which she rejects his claim to objectivity and argues that the "blank-slate" beliefs he caricatures have long been extinct.
Her most recent book, ''Pinker's List'', is a response to [[Steven Pinker]]'s ''[[The Blank Slate]]'', in which she rejects his claim to objectivity and argues that the "blank-slate" beliefs he caricatures have long been extinct.


==Bibliography==
Morgan's later books on the aquatic ape hypothesis are:
===Aquatic ape hypothesis===
* ''The Aquatic Ape'', 1982, Stein & Day Pub, ISBN 0-285-62509-8
* ''The Aquatic Ape'', 1982, Stein & Day Pub, ISBN 0-285-62509-8
* ''The Scars of Evolution'', 1990, Souvenir Press, ISBN 0-285-62996-4
* ''The Scars of Evolution'', 1990, Souvenir Press, ISBN 0-285-62996-4
Line 38: Line 37:
* ''The Naked Darwinist'', 2008, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-30
* ''The Naked Darwinist'', 2008, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-30


===Other===
Books on other topics:
* ''Falling Apart: The Rise and Decline of Urban Civilisation'', 1976, Souvenir Press Ltd. ISBN 0-285-62234-X
* ''Falling Apart: The Rise and Decline of Urban Civilisation'', 1976, Souvenir Press Ltd. ISBN 0-285-62234-X
* ''Pinker's List'', 2005, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-2-2
* ''Pinker's List'', 2005, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-2-2

Revision as of 18:12, 24 September 2009

For the Welsh singer, see Elaine Morgan (singer).

Elaine Morgan OBE (born 1920), born Elaine Floyd, is a Welsh feminist writer, best known for her television work, including screenwriting most of the episodes of Dr. Finlay's Casebook. She is also the author of several books about the aquatic ape hypothesis, among them The Descent of Woman, The Aquatic Ape, The Scars of Evolution, The Descent of the Child, The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis and her latest The Naked Darwinist which discussed the reasons why there is so little discussion of aquatic scenarios in the academic literature. She also authored Falling Apart and Pinker's List.

Personal life

Morgan was born and brought up in Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd. She has lived for many years in Mountain Ash, near Aberdare. She graduated from Lady Margaret Hall Oxford University with a degree in English. She married Morien Morgan (d.1997) and she has three sons.

Writing

Morgan has written for many television series since 1955. The 32 credits for her work on IMDB include:

She has won two BAFTAs and two Writers' Guild awards. She also wrote the script for the Horizon documentary about Joey Deacon, the disabled fund-raiser. This won the Prix Italia in 1975. She was honoured with the Writer of the Year Award from the Royal Television Society for her series of Testament of Youth [1].

In 2003 she started to write a weekly column for the Welsh national daily newspaper, The Western Mail.

She was awarded an honorary D.Litt. by Glamorgan University in December 2006[2] and an honorary fellow of the University of Cardiff in 2007[3].

Morgan was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to education.[4]

Advocacy for the aquatic ape hypothesis

Main article: aquatic ape hypothesis

Morgan first became drawn into scientific writing when reading popularizers of human evolution such as Desmond Morris. She described her reaction as one of irritation because the explanations were largely male-centered. Morris's book The Naked Ape mentioned the idea that humans may have undergone a phase of adaptation to living in water, and in 1972 wrote her first book on the subject of the aquatic ape hypothesis, The Descent of Woman. Morgan went on to write five more books on the topic, but the idea was never accepted within paleontology as a viable hypothesis. The story of Morgan's work on the aquatic ape hypothesis was chronicled in the 1998 BBC documentary "The Aquatic Ape" and in 2009 presented a TED lecture on the topic.[5]

Other work

Her most recent book, Pinker's List, is a response to Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate, in which she rejects his claim to objectivity and argues that the "blank-slate" beliefs he caricatures have long been extinct.

Bibliography

Aquatic ape hypothesis

  • The Aquatic Ape, 1982, Stein & Day Pub, ISBN 0-285-62509-8
  • The Scars of Evolution, 1990, Souvenir Press, ISBN 0-285-62996-4
  • The Descent of the Child, 1995, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-509895-1
  • The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, 1997, Souvenir Press, ISBN 0-285-63377-5
  • The Naked Darwinist, 2008, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-30

Other

  • Falling Apart: The Rise and Decline of Urban Civilisation, 1976, Souvenir Press Ltd. ISBN 0-285-62234-X
  • Pinker's List, 2005, Eildon Press, ISBN 0-9525620-2-2

References

  1. ^ Citation for her honorary degree at Cardiff University in 2007 - accessed 2008-08-07
  2. ^ Glamorgan Honours Wales' Finest
  3. ^ Cardiff University List of Fellows
  4. ^ "No. 59090". The London Gazette (invalid |supp= (help)). 13 June 2009.
  5. ^ Morgan, E (2009-07-01). "Elaine Morgan says we evolved from aquatic apes". Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. Retrieved 2009-09-24.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elaine_Morgan_%28writer%29&diff=prev&oldid=315962636

Leave a Reply