Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (; 15 June 1928 – 2 June 2018) was an Austrian ethologist in the field of

human ethology Human ethology is the study of human behavior. Ethology as a discipline is generally thought of as a sub-category of biology, though psychology, psychological theories have been developed based on ethological ideas (e.g. sociobiology, evolutionary ...

. In authoring the book which bears that title, he applied

ethology Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behavior, behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithology, ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

by studying them in a perspective more common to volumes studying animal behavior.

Education and work

Born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria, Eibl-Eibesfeldt studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

from 1945 to 1949. From 1946 to 1948 he was research associate at the Biological Station Wilhelminenberg near Vienna and became a research associate of the Institute for Comparative Behavior Studies in Altenberg near Vienna with

Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (Austrian ; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoology, zoologist, ethology, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von ...

in 1949. Between 1951 and 1969 he worked at the

Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology The former Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology was located in Bulldern, Westphalia, Germany, moved to Seewiesen in 1957. It was one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max Planck Gesellschaft). Background A working group was fo ...

(first in

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

, from 1957 at Seewiesen,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

). In 1970 he became Professor for Zoology at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. From 1975 he was the head of the

, Department of Human Ethology in

Andechs Andechs is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is renowned in Germany and beyond for Andechs Abbey, a Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ...

, Germany. He was the co-founder and first president of the

International Society for Human Ethology The International Society for Human Ethology (abbreviated ISHE) is an international learned society dedicated to the study of human ethology. It was founded in 1972, with Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Daniel G. Freedman, and William Charlesworth all p ...

. From 1992 he was Honorary Director of the Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Urban Ethology in Vienna. In the first 20 years of his work as an animal ethologist, he investigated experimentally and descriptively the development of behavior of mammals and compared the behavior of communication of vertebrates. He was the author of many books such as '' Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behavior Patterns'' and ''

Human Ethology Human ethology is the study of human behavior. Ethology as a discipline is generally thought of as a sub-category of biology, though psychology, psychological theories have been developed based on ethological ideas (e.g. sociobiology, evolutionary ...

''.

Personal life

He married Eleonore Eibl-Eibesfeldt in 1950. They had two children, Bernolf and Roswitha. Eibl-Eibesfeldt died on 2 June 2018 in

Starnberg Starnberg is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg. Recor ...

, at age 89. For many years he dived with

Hans Hass Hans Hass (23 January 1919 – 16 June 2013) was an Austrian biologist and underwater diving pioneer. He was known mainly for being among the first scientists to popularise coral reefs, stingrays, octopuses and sharks. He pioneered the making o ...

on his diving boat ''Xarifa''.

Decorations and awards

* 1971 Gold Medal of the cosmos Bölsche Society for Services to the dissemination of scientific knowledge * 1981

Burda Prize Burda is a surname which may refer to the following people: * Aenne Burda (1909–2005), German publisher, Franz Burda's wife, co-founder of the Burda group * Franz Burda (1903–1986), German publisher and Nazi Party member, founder of what is no ...

for Communication Research * 1988 Philip Morris Research Prize * 1989 Gold Honorary Medal of Vienna * 1994 Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, Spain * 1995

Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first President of the Federal Republic ...

* 1996 National Park bubble in gold with rubies and diamonds for exceptional service to the international nature protection conferred by the Natural History Museum of Vienna and the

Danube-Auen National Park Donau-Auen National Park () covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe. The German word ''Aue'' (variant ''Au'') means "river island, wetland, flood ...

Academy * 1996 Schwenk'scher Environmental Award of

Ebersberg Ebersberg is the seat of the similarly named Ebersberg '' Landkreis'' (district) in the Oberbayern ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative region) in Bavaria, southern Germany. The ''Ebersberger Forst'' (forest) is one of Germany’s largest conti ...

* 1997 Gold Medal of the Drs Haackert Foundation, awarded for outstanding contributions to the study of human behaviour * 1997

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit () is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian people". The or ...

* 1997 years prize of the Foundation for Western consciousness (STAB) from Zurich * 1998

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

* 1998 Inge and Werner Grüter Award for successful science communication for services to the marine biology and Riffforschung * 1999 "Premio Catedra Santiago Grisolía" for contributions to the study of the ethology of the people and the aggressiveness * 1999 "Al mérito" awarded by the

Charles Darwin Foundation Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) (, ''ECCD'') is a biological research station in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos, Ecuador. The station is operated by the Charles Darwin Foundation which was founded in 1959 under the auspices ...

, Ecuador * 2001 Honorary award from the

Heinz Foundation The Heinz Foundations are several charitable foundations founded by members of the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Foods dynasty. The Heinz Family Philanthropies are based in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., and include: * The Teresa and H. John Heinz III ...

Sielmann for use for conservation, especially in the Galapagos Islands * 2003 Gold Medal for services to the City of Vienna * 2005 Honorary Doctorate of Psychology at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

, Italy

References

External links

Eibl-Eibesfeldt's homepageInternational Society for Human Ethology

Homepage of lecture for Human Ethology at the University Innsbruck
several PDF-documents in English {{DEFAULTSORT:Eibl-Eibesfeld, Irenaus 1928 births 2018 deaths Austrian underwater divers Austrian zoologists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Ethologists Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Scientists from Vienna University of Vienna alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Max Planck Institute directors

Education and work

Personal life

Decorations and awards

See also

References

External links