The killer ape theory or killer ape hypothesis is the theory that war and interpersonal aggression was the driving force behind human evolution. It was originated by Raymond Dart in the 1950s; later it was developed further in African Genesis by Robert Ardrey in 1961.
According to the killer ape theory, the ancestors of humans were distinguished from other primate species by their greater aggressiveness. Furthermore, according to the theory, this aggression remains within humanity, which retains many murderous instincts.
The theory gained notoriety for suggesting that the urge to do violence was a fundamental part of human psychology, The hunting hypothesis is often associated with the theory, because of similarities and because Robert Ardrey has developed both.
Read more about Killer Ape Theory: Definition, Reception, References in Fiction
Famous quotes containing the words killer, ape and/or theory:
“I see the killer in him
and he turns on an oven,
an oven, an oven, an oven
and on a pie plate he sticks
in my Yellow Star....”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“You have made your way from worm to man, and much in you is still worm. Once you were apes, and even now man is still more ape than any ape.”
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“The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.”
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