The Cannibal Within offers an evolutionary account of the propensity of human beings, in extreme circumstances to eat other human beings, despite the strong Western taboo against such practices. What sets this volume apart from the large body of literature on cannibalism, both popular and anthropological, is the underlying premise: cannibalism as an alternative to starvation is tacitly condoned by the same biological morality that would condemn cannibalism of other sorts in non-threatening situations. Deep as the taboos may be, the survival instinct runs even deeper.

The title of...

The Cannibal Within offers an evolutionary account of the propensity of human beings, in extreme circumstances to eat other human beings, despite the strong Western taboo against such practices. What sets this volume apart from the large body of literature on cannibalism, both popular and anthropological, is the underlying premise: cannibalism as an alternative to starvation is tacitly condoned by the same biological morality that would condemn cannibalism of other sorts in non-threatening situations. Deep as the taboos may be, the survival instinct runs even deeper.

The title of...

An extremely well-organized, conceptually clear, empirically informed, and carefully argued volume...What makes this contribution special is the invigorating infusion of a wealth of principles and knowledge derived from evolutionary biology, neurophysiology, and cognitive science...The chapters provide abundant material for animated discussion.'' --- Evolution and Human Behavior, September 1997 When engaging in laboratory and field studies, researchers have an extensive set of implicit assumptions that justifies their research. However, these assumptions are rarely made explicit...