Sociobiology: Beyond Naturenurture? by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781000312096
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2019-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

Summary

Sociobiology is the systematic study of the biological basis of all forms of social behavior in all kinds of organisms. As such it is a discipline, not a specific hypothesis. Current sociobiological theory envisions three alternative outcomes in the evolution of human social behavior: (1) human populations have exhausted their genetic variability and hence are uniform with respect to the genes affecting social behavior, yet the genes prescribe at least some of the behavior; or, (2) genetic uniformity has been reached, and the genes prescribe only the capacity for transmitting culture; or, (3) there is still some genetic variability and the genes influence at least some forms of social behavior.

In this article I show that substantial and diverse evidence supports the third alternative. It may first be noted that human social behavior is species-specific in certain traits, such as the remarkable capacity for language and the proneness to invent elaborate kin classifications, and its overall properties most closely resemble the general qualities in other mammals and especially in Old World monkeys and apes, which on anatomical and biochemical grounds are our nearest living phylogenetic relatives. Furthermore, socio-biological theory, which is based primarily on the theory of population genetics and ecology, permits certain complex, specific predictions about human social behavior that cannot easily be reached in any other manner. Current studies are underway to test these predictions in such phenomena as the incest taboo, hypergamy, infanticide, primitive warfare, male dominance, kinship rules, and sexual practice. The results thus far are sufficiently consistent with sociobiological theory to justify their continued pursuit as a complementary mode of analysis in the social sciences. Still another approach to the characterization of innate behavioral constraints is through the study of severely retarded individuals in which most or all forms of ordinary cultural behavior is missing.

The evidence for a genetic basis of variation in behavior within human populations is also strong. In addition to the demonstration of behavioral mutants at the levels of both the genes and chromosomes, the more carefully controlled twin studies indicate some degree of heritability in a wide array of mental and psychomotor abilities and personality traits. Homo sapiens appears to be a typical animal species with reference to the quality and magnitude of the genetic diversity affecting its behavior. But the relation of this genetic control to environmental influences can be understood only if each category of behavioral trait is analyzed separately and traced mechanistically as a developmental pathway from the gene to the final product, paying special attention to the inherited rules of prepared and counterprepared behavior.

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