Morgan (mis)quotes Negus

J. Moore (j#d#.moore@canrem.com)
Thu, 14 Sep 95 17:07:00 -0500

Regarding an old reply of yours to a post that Elaine Morgan did,
the one with the Victor Negus quotes:

Rd> However, "many vertebrates" are not the subject
Rd> of this debate--aquatic animals and primates are.

Rd> Specifics, not vague generalities.
Rd> David L. Burkhead

Well, given Morgan's sad history of inaccuracy when quoting, I've
been looking around and finally found the source of her quotes
(naturally, she didn't give any titles or page numbers); I thought
you might like seeing the actual, accurate quotes:

All quotes are from Elaine Morgan's post dated Monday, Jul 31, 1995:
EM> Comparing " for instance a fast-running horse or deer to a considerably
EM> slower Man, he says "in the latter there is a tortouos airway withsharp
EM> angles at the anterior and posterior choanae and at the larynx. In
EM> addition to tortuosity there is obstruction at the internal ostium and
EM> at the glottis. There are eddies produced in Man, esp. in the gap
EM> between the posterior nasal passage and the laryngea aperture.."

Comparing Morgan's quote of Negus with the full, unaltered quote
below, note that Morgan has deliberately excised all the references
to the human fetus and various primates, as these references harm
her thesis that the human airway's shape is due to convergent
evolution rather than phylogeny. Note too that these deletions
were not noted in her quote, which was presented as if it were
unaltered. No wonder she gave no hint of what book, much less
page number, her highly altered quote came from.

From: 1965 *The Biology of Respiration* by Sir Victor Negus
E&S Livingstone Ltd.: Edinburgh and London. (Sections deleted
by Morgan are shown in brackets.)

pp. 123-124:
"[Nevertheless, certain modifications are found which correspond
with the powers of exertion of various species,] for instance a
fast-running horse or deer to the considerably slower Man. In
the latter there is a tortuous airway with sharp angles at the
anterior and posterior choanae and at the larynx [as well seen
in a human foetus]; in addition to tortuosity there is obstruction
at the internal ostium and at the glottis. [Sagittal sections of a
Monkey show an intermediate condition, with an intranarial
epiglottis to connect the posterior nasal passge and the larnyx.]
"There are eddies produced in Man, esp. in the gap between the
posterior nasal passage and the laryngea aperture. [A sagittal
section of the head of a baboon (*Cynocephalus*) shows much the
same points, but in lesser degree; in an Orang (*Simia satyrus*)
the gap is greater.]"

*************** back to Elaine *****************************************

EM> "While the nose of many vertebrates has reached a high degree of
EM> perfection for humidification, for olfaction, or for rapid transfer
EM> of air currents, the organ in Man is a rather poor affair "

Reading only what Morgan quotes, one might be lead to believe that
Negus suggests that humans are greatly different in this than
their close relatives. Actually, in comparisons throughout this
book (ref below), Negus repeatedly uses variations of the phrase
"in the higher apes and Man" when remarking on their similarities
as opposed to the differences seen in other animals in so many of
the features he describes. He often describes these features as
he does in the paragraph (quoted below) which immediately precedes
what Morgan quoted, in which he points out that when viewing a
series of primates, from "primitive" to "advanced", one can
observe this regression of features in the nose.

>From 1958 *The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Nose and
Paranasal Sinuses*, by Sir Victor Negus. E&S Livingstone Ltd.:
Edinburgh and London.

pg. 349:
"[One can observe the signs of regression in the nose by
inspecting a series of the Primates, starting with the most
elaborate nose in the Tree Shrew; although described as the first
order of the vertebrate kingdom, yet the description is not
applicable to most of the timid representatives of the Primates,
which took to trees to escape their enemies or to find food denied
to them on the ground.
"And so we find, as this book should demonstrate, that] while the
nose of many vertebrates has reached a high degree of perfection for
humidification, for olfaction, or for rapid transfer of air currents,
the organ in Man is a rather poor affair..."

While Morgan suggests that humans are crippled by such features,
Negus (pg. 349) says "I was once accused, in speaking of the larnyx,
of describing Man as a degenerate creature; that is far from the
truth, since regressions of structure give to him great
versatility. Man does not depend on keen powers of scent, because
of his reliance on vision..."

*************** back to Elaine *****************************************
(This one is my favorite, for reasons that will be obvious. ;-)

EM> While looking this up,I cam across this nice little comment:
EM>
EM> In aquatic species the odorous molecules are perceived when in solution
EM> in water. In terrestrial species a smell conveyed in pure aqueous
EM> solution is not perceived. But if dissolved in saline solution, the
EM> odour may cause stimulation.
EM>
EM> "It is somewhat surprising that in terrestrial Man, salt is essential.
EM> Whether this phenomenon applies to terrestrial vertebrates other than
EM> Man does not appesr to be determined."

The actual unaltered quote (Sections deleted by Morgan are shown
in brackets):

pg. 92:
"It is somewhat surprising that [while a fish living in fresh
water is able to perceive odours carried in a non-saline medium,
yet] in terrestrial Man salt is essential; whether this observation
applies to terrestrial vertebrates other than Man does not appear
to be determined.
"[Backman thought that to be odourous a substance must be
soluble in water and in lipoids, so as to pass through the watery
layer of mucus and then to be dissolved in the lipoid material
which constitutes the olfactory cells.]"

>From 1958 *The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Nose and
Paranasal Sinuses*, by Sir Victor Negus. E&S Livingstone Ltd.:
Edinburgh and London.

Now aside from this being yet another example of how Morgan alters
quotes, leaving out important words and phrases without indicating
it's been done, there are two interesting points in this one. One
is that Morgan didn't see fit to include Negus's suggestion,
citing Backman, that the saline mixture would allow the odorous
substance to be soluble in the saline environment of the
terrestrial animal's nose. The other is in the section she stated
above, which is her rephrasing of Negus's preceding paragraph.
Read it again, and consider these points (actual Negus quotes,
Ibid, pg. 92):

"In aquatic species the odourous molecules are perceived when in
solution in water, but Seydell states that in terrestrial species
a smell conveyed to the olfactory area in pure aqueous solution is
not perceived."

"If dissolved in saline solution, however, the odour may cause
stimulation, according to Jerome."

"while a fish living in fresh water is able to perceive odours
carried in a non-saline medium, yet in terrestrial Man salt is
essential"

So Morgan is pointing out that in aquatic species an odor in pure
water can be perceived, but terrestrial species need the odor to
be carried in salt water, and that humans need the odor to be
carried in salt water. She's offering evidence that humans do not
have an aquatic background!

Way to go Elaine...

Jim Moore (j#d#.moore@canrem.com)

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