Adolf Portmann was a Swiss zoologist best known for his controversial stance on evolution and his studies of animal consciousness. His highly philosophical writings and lectures attracted students from many disciplines in the sciences and from the humanities as well

Portmann was born in Basel on May 27, 1897. As a student, he attended universities all over Europe. He went from the University of Basel to colleges in Paris, Munich, Berlin, and Geneva. After his studies he returned to Basel, and became a professor of zoology at the university in 1926. In 1931 he was promoted to director of the university s Zoological Laboratory, a position he held until 1968.

Portmann's interest as a zoologist settled on areas other scientists had neglected, if not scorned. According to Portmann, the conventional scientific view described an animal as the sum of its survival strategies. Thus an animal's vital functions were defined by most zoologists as...