Project Gutenberg 2009-10-13 Public domain in the USA. 531 Burroughs, John 1837 1921 Ways of Nature Ways of nature -- Bird-songs -- Nature with closed doors -- The wit of a duck -- Factors in animal life -- Animal communication -- Devious paths -- What do animals know? -- Do animals think and reflect? -- A pinch of salt -- The literary treatment of nature -- A beaver's reason -- Reading the book of nature -- Gathered by the way. Produced by Chris Curnow, Ritu Aggarwal, Joseph Cooper and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. "Ways of Nature" by John Burroughs is a collection of reflective essays written in the early 20th century. The work delves into the complexities of animal behavior and the interplay between instinct and intelligence, challenging anthropomorphic interpretations of nature. Through his observations, Burroughs explores the nuances of animal life, questioning the extent to which animals possess "sense" in comparison to human consciousness. At the start of the collection, Burroughs introduces the inspiration behind his essays, fueled by letters from schoolchildren inquiring about the intelligence of birds. He reflects on the tendency of contemporary writers to attribute overly human characteristics to animals, cautioning against idealizing their behaviors. Using insightful anecdotes, he illustrates his musings on instinct and judgment in various wildlife situations, emphasizing the lack of reasoning in most animal behavior while acknowledging some instances that may appear to border on intelligence. Overall, the opening portion sets the stage for a thoughtful examination of the natural world, balancing observation with philosophical inquiry. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.4 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Animal behavior Natural history -- Outdoor books Animal intelligence QH QL Text Animals-Wild Browsing: Nature/Gardening/Animals Browsing: Science - General Browsing: Science - Genetics/Biology/Evolution Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Nature/Gardening/Animals 509516 2025-06-12T12:25:00.785998 text/html 477959 2024-10-24T20:27:02 text/html 345580 2025-06-12T12:25:13.661922 application/epub+zip 350026 2025-06-12T12:25:05.519991 application/epub+zip 261285 2025-06-12T12:25:03.428956 application/epub+zip 547786 2025-06-12T12:25:19.170908 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 491009 2025-06-12T12:25:11.696974 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 372843 2022-09-14T05:15:21.921474 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 424509 2025-06-12T12:24:59.582976 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 404762 2024-10-24T20:27:02 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 424514 2021-01-05T18:38:21 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 424513 2021-01-05T18:38:21 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 22406 2025-06-12T12:25:19.353883 application/rdf+xml 12269 2025-06-12T12:25:04.075960 image/jpeg 3314 2025-06-12T12:25:03.751983 image/jpeg 162241 2021-01-05T18:38:21 application/octet-stream application/zip 259813 2021-01-05T18:38:21 application/octet-stream application/zip 162198 2021-01-05T18:38:21 application/octet-stream application/zip 329389 2025-06-12T12:25:00.837979 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia