On Aggression

On Aggression (1968) – Konrad Lorenz
University Paperback
ISBN: None. The geese ate it.
Condition: Good, as mildly pecked-at by Crappy Old Books.

If you’ve ever watched two people argue online and thought, “Surely there’s some deeper biological explanation for this nonsense,” then On Aggression is the book that cheerfully replies: Yes. It’s all very animal, actually.

Konrad Lorenz, Nobel Prize–winning animal-behaviour enthusiast and professional goose confidant, sets out here to explain why creatures—from cichlid fish to human beings in neckties—get so very enthusiastic about fighting. This is 1960s science, so expect equal parts insight, sweeping theory, and the occasional moment where you mutter, “…okay, calm down, Konrad.”

What’s going on in here (other than squawking)

Inside this sturdy little paperback you’ll find:

• Animal case studies
  Sticklebacks that attack anything red, cichlids defending territories, geese that imprint, dogs that posture, and various other creatures whose emotional range appears to go: calm → mildly annoyed → full-on war.

• A grand theory of instinctive aggression
  Lorenz suggests that aggression is not just a bug, but a feature: an instinct that builds up like water in a tank, looking for an outlet. Think of it as nature’s slightly risky pressure valve.

• Parallels to human behaviour
  Once he’s done with the geese and fish, he turns the spotlight on us: wars, crowds, nationalism, social structures—the whole “civilisation” project looked at through the lens of animals who have upgraded to uniforms and speeches.

• Moral alarm bells
  This isn’t all “isn’t nature interesting?” Lorenz also worries aloud about what happens when our instinctive aggression collides with modern tech, large populations, and the occasional nuclear warhead. You know, light reading.

It’s part ethology, part essay, part “please stop inventing more efficient ways to kill each other.”

About the condition (Good, unlike the state of the world)

This copy is rated Good, which in Crappy Old Books dialect means:

• The cover is clean and intact, with only modest scuffing or a minor crease—more “field notes” than “survived a bar fight.”

• The spine is solid, with maybe a hint of reading lines: enough to say “someone made it past chapter three,” but not so many that it looks like it’s been through an actual conflict.

• The pages are all present, firmly attached, and nicely aged, with just a tint of intellectual patina. No coffee floods, no mysterious stains shaped like Rorschach tests of rage.

In short: it looks exactly like the sort of book that’s been read thoughtfully, not hurled across the room in a fit of instinctive hostility.

Why you might irrationally want this

• You’re curious about classic pop science: the kind written before everyone argued about it on Twitter for six months.

• You like books that treat humans as slightly overcomplicated animals, with the same instincts, just better stationery.

• You’re into psychology, sociology, biology, or just watching people lose their composure and thinking, “I bet a goose would do that too.”

• You have a guilty fondness for reading theories that are brilliant, influential, and also a bit dated, because that’s how intellectual history works.

Yes, some of Lorenz’s ideas have been challenged, refined, or parked in the “interesting but hmm” section—but that actually makes this even more fun to read in 2025.

Why a “Good” used copy is perfect for this kind of book

Because:

• A slightly worn paperback about aggression feels appropriately field-tested. It’s clearly survived time in bags, on desks, and possibly next to a cage or two.

• You won’t feel guilty scribbling in the margins:
  “Yes,” “No,” “Maybe,” or “Konrad, buddy, we need to talk.”

• Any gentle wear gives it the vibe of an old lab notebook: not precious, but trusted.

If there’s a faint underline under a dramatic sentence about humanity’s violent instincts, that’s just a former reader quietly nodding along from the past.

The sales pitch disguised as a cautionary exhibit

On Aggression is not a cosy nature book about fluffy animals. It is:

A guided tour of why creatures attack,
why we’re not as special as we think,
and why combining ancient instincts with modern weapons
may have been a spectacularly bad idea.

Read it as science history, as philosophy, as a mirror held up to the species that invented both poetry and the strategic bombing campaign.

So here it is:

On Aggression (1968) by Konrad Lorenz, University Paperback.
Calmly written, occasionally alarming, scientifically significant, slightly old-school.
Condition: Good – pages stable, arguments provocative.

Proudly circulated by Crappy Old Books.

Buy it. Read it. And next time you watch two people arguing over nothing, feel free to murmur, “Ah yes. Instinctive agonistic behaviour.”

Keep browsing: See more Non-Fiction books Other books by Konrad Lorenz