Series | Buch
Sociobiology and epistemology
Abstrakt
The papers presented in this special collection focus upon conceptual, the oretical and epistemological aspects of sociobiology, an emerging discipline that deals with the extent to which genetic factors influence or control patterns of behavior as well as the extent to which patterns of behavior, in turn, influence or control genetic evolution. The Prologue advances a compre hensive acco/unt of the field of gene-culture co-evolution, where Lumsden and Gushurst differentiate between "classical" sociobiology (represented especially by Wilson's early work) and current research on human socio biology (represented by Lumsden and Wilson's later work), which emphasizes interplay between genes, minds, and culture. The specter of genetic deter minism, no doubt, has created considerable controversy, some of which may be laid to rest by Hanna's analysis of the (ambiguous) notion of a "genetic program", which indicates the necessity for distinguishing between descriptive and prescriptive dimensions of this complex concept. Brandon offers a framework for assessing the respective contributions of nature and of nurture by advancing a means for measuring genetic and cultural influences upon "inheritance", which supports the conclusion that evolving patterns of behavior do not always maximize inclusive fitness, contrary to what socio biologists have claimed. The influence of culture upon genetic evolution, of course, can be adequately appraised only when a suitable account of culture itself has been found, a desideratum Smillie attempts to satisfy by utilizing the notion of "cinfo" as culturally transmitted ecological informa tion, a resource other species tend not to exploit.
Details | Inhaltsverzeichnis
humankind in the making
pp.3-28
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_1pp.57-73
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_3pp.97-113
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_5the possibility of altruism
pp.115-129
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_6pp.133-160
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_7pp.161-179
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_8pp.181-200
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_9pp.201-215
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_10can sociobiology help?
pp.249-265
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3_12Publication details
Publisher: Springer
Ort: Dordrecht
Year: 1985
Seiten: 281
Series: Synthese Library
Series volume: 180
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-009-5370-3
ISBN (hardback): 978-90-277-2006-1
ISBN (digital): 978-94-009-5370-3
Referenz:
Fetzer James H. (1985) Sociobiology and epistemology. Dordrecht, Springer.