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As evolutionary psychology attempts to explain social behavior in terms of genetic factors that have evolved over time according to the principles of natural selection, like the tendency to be aggressive toward a member of one’s own species, the trend towards be helpful to others, or a sense of right and wrong in the execution of moral behavior, another theory evolved to assist: Sociobiology. Sociobiology is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “the comparative study of social organization and behavior in animals including humans particularly in regard to its genetic basis and evolutionary history.” This systematic study of the biological basis of social behavior is a concept that E. O. Wilson brought to light in 1975. The sociobiological theory, as summarized by Flanagan is “…literally the attempt to exploit biological knowledge in the explanation of social behavior…” (Flanagan, The Science of the Mind, 1991, p. 267).
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STUDIA ECOLOGIAE ET BIOETHICAE haviour of living beings, especially people. This factor is to be either genetic conditions or environment. By means of unambiguous supporting of the idea of human genetic determinism, sociobiologists provoked a dramatic dispute whose attempts to resolve it only led to adjournment (Łepko 1994).
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The article gives an overview of the impact of Darwinism in the debate about "Nature: Nurture". It names the main tenets and arguments for and against using evolutionary knowledge in the studies of humans and gives 20 most important references. Subchapters: 1. Nature and Nurture: Darwinism and the Nature of Nature, 2. Nature vs. Nurture: the Case for Nurture, 3. The Case for Nurture: Nature requires Nurture, 4. The Case for Nurture: the autonomy and pluralism of cultures as a counterargument against the influence of nature, 3. The Case for Nature: Ethology, 4. The Case for Nature: Sociobiology – Theory and Application, 5. The Case for Nature: the Shift to Evolutionary Psychology, 6. Nature and Nurture: Concluding remarks, areas of future research
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The essay explores the development of sociobiology, its basic tenets, and its contributions to the study of human nature as well as ethics. It insists that Darwinism is more than a biological theory and presents a possibility of interpreting sociobiology as manifesting not the triumph of the selfish gene but, on the contrary, the only way in which the expansion of altruism was possible.
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Theoretica l p rem ises o f m odern soc iob io log ica l th inking can be found in the concept form u la ted by R ussian b io logist and socio log ist Peter Kropotkin (1904) w ho lived and w orked at the turn o f the 19th and 20th centuries. The pecu lia r position o f the then-con tem porary b io logy also had its contribution to the beg inn ings o f the form ative period o f sociob io log ica l thought. From the point o f v iew o f ph ilosophy o f science the evo lu tionary (Darw inian) paradigm was w idespread in the last two decades o f the 19th century: the controversies around the concept o f natura l selection, presented by Darw in 's opponents, confirm th is dom ination even more m arkedly. It was then tha t the idea o f "m utual a id" w as form ed the idea which, accord ing to Kropotkin, was as es sentia l a fac to r/m echan ism o f evolution as the "strugg le fo r survival". Kropot kin's concep t w as im m edia te ly rejected. C onsequently, t...
Freudian psychoanalysis and sociobiology: A synthesis
American Psychologist, 1982
The descriptions of human behavior offered by Freudian psychoanalysis correspond remarkably well with the predictions generated by the sociobiological application of modern evolutionary theory. The two paradigms are most parallel respecting the descriptions of behavior they deduce, while some important divergences occur regarding the hypothesized mediating mechanisms. Sociobiological treatment of Freudian constructs results in a view of the origins and worth of these descriptive notions based on currently acceptable scientific theory and empirical fact. There can be little doubt that Freudian psychoanalysis is the "first force" in 20th-century psychology. Psychoanalysis as a personality theory is the most comprehensive one available, detailing the structure, dynamics, and development of personality to a degree unsurpassed by its competitors. However, complexity and breadth do not insure universal acceptance, and psychoanalysis has had its fervid critics since the early stages of the movement. Criticisms have focused primarily on mentalistic constructs such as the id, unconscious, and oedipus complex. One particular source of annoyance to environmentally oriented psye-hologists has been Freud's critical emphasis on biological determinism, or at least his insistence that psychic determinism is rooted in the biology of the organism. It is well known that Freud was a research physician and scientist who believed that his constructs, such as id, ego, and superego, would eventually be discovered to have physiological and perhaps even evolutionary origins (cf. Sulloway, 1979). This paper argues that Freud's theory of personality is highly compatible with certain emerging views about the evolutionary bases of human behavior. Sociobiologists (e.g., Barash, 1979) in particular have integrated recent findings from ethology, ecology, and genetics to develop a theory of human social behavior. Their central thesis is that human social behavior and organization rep