Si hace unos días comentaba un libro que trataba de la batalla de la sociobiología, después de la publicación de Sociobiology de Wilson, ahora otro que examina las aportaciones y los avances en sociobiología.
In The Triumph of Sociobiology, John Alcock reviews the controversy that has surrounded evolutionary studies of human social behavior following the 1975 publication of E.O. Wilson’s classic, Sociobiology, The New Synthesis. Denounced vehemently as an «ideology» that has justified social evils and inequalities, sociobiology has survived the assault. Twenty-five years after the field was named by Wilson, the approach he championed has successfully demonstrated its value in the study of animal behavior, including the behavior of our own species. Yet, misconceptions remain -to out disadvantage.
In this straightforward, objective approach to the sociobiology debate, noted animal behaviorist John Alcock illuminates how sociobiologist study behavior in all species. He faces the chief scientific and ideological objections head on, with a compelling analysis of case histories that involve such topics as sexual jealousy, beauty, gender difference, parent-offspring relations, and genocide. More importantly, he presents the practical application of sociobiology and the progress sociobiological research has made in the search for a more complete understanding of human activities. The key misconception about this evolutionary field are dissected one by one as the author shows why sociobiologists have had so much success in explaining the puzzling and fascinating social behavior of nonhuman animals and humans alike.
[Estoy escuchando: «It’s Gonna Rain» de Various Artists en el disco Rurouni Kenshin – The Best Collection]
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