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Konrad Lorenz
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Biography: Lorenz based much of his work on the principle of gestalt perception. According to Lorenz, this way of looking at the world transcends what can be accomplished through just "rational thought" and the emphasis on quantification and reduction which typically characterizes scientific research. Most of his studies were focused on innate animal behavior, especially that of imprinting in birds. Lorenz argued that much behavior in animals could be described simply as patterns of instinctual actions, not guided by insight or conscious reflection. In his famous work On Aggression, he argued that aggressive tendencies were innate in animals, even humans, but that while it remains simply instinctual for most creatures, humans should be able to work to control it. Despite this latter qualification, Lorenz' book was harshly criticized by psychologists, sociologists, and others who believed that the idea of humans having innate behaviors could be used to defend the status quo in which certain people would "naturally" come out ahead of others. This, however, is easily refuted by what Lorenz himself wrote:
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