The Social Meaning of Modern Biology: From Social Darwinism to SociobiologyThe Social Meaning of Modern Biology analyzes the cultural significance of recurring attempts since the time of Darwin to extract social and moral guidance from the teachings of modern biology. Such efforts are often dismissed as ideological defenses of the social status quo, of the sort wrongly associated with nineteenth-century social Darwinism. Howard Kaye argues they are more properly viewed as culturally radical attempts to redefine who we are by nature and thus rethink how we should live. Despite the scientific and philosophical weaknesses of arguments that "biology is destiny," and their dehumanizing potential, in recent years they have proven to be powerfully attractive. They will continue to be so in an age enthralled by genetic explanations of human experience and excited by the prospect of its biological control.In the ten years since the original edition of The Social Meaning of Modern Biology was published, changes in both science and society have altered the terms of debate over the nature of man and human culture. Kaye's epilogue thoroughly examines these changes. He discusses the remarkable growth of ethology and sociobiology in their study of animal and human behavior and the stunning progress achieved in neuropsychology and behavioral genetics. These developments may appear to bring us closer to long-sought explanations of our physical, mental, and behavioral "machinery." Yet, as Kaye demonstrates, attempts to use such explanations to unify the natural and social sciences are mired in self-contradictory accounts of human freedom and moral choice. The Social Meaning of Modern Biology remains a significant study in the field of sociobiology and is essential reading for sociologists, biologists, behavioral geneticists, and psychologists. |
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Page vii
... Social Theory 77 . Sociobiology: The Natural Theology of E. O. Wilson 95 . The Popularization of Human Sociobiology 136 Conclusion 156 Epilogue 167 References 191 Index 205 Taylor & Francis Acknowledgments In writing this book, I have ...
... Social Theory 77 . Sociobiology: The Natural Theology of E. O. Wilson 95 . The Popularization of Human Sociobiology 136 Conclusion 156 Epilogue 167 References 191 Index 205 Taylor & Francis Acknowledgments In writing this book, I have ...
Page 1
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. Introduction. Faith is ... evolutionary biology for the study of human social behavior. Western biologists and ... human society; they were dangerously misleading as well. Man was indeed an ...
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. Introduction. Faith is ... evolutionary biology for the study of human social behavior. Western biologists and ... human society; they were dangerously misleading as well. Man was indeed an ...
Page 12
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. >{ } { It is a misleading ... evolution by natural selection obviously made of God an increasingly ... human concern most aggressive in its exploration of Darwinism's implications ...
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. >{ } { It is a misleading ... evolution by natural selection obviously made of God an increasingly ... human concern most aggressive in its exploration of Darwinism's implications ...
Page 14
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. problems and tensions ... human psyches and societies virtually untouched. Why has this been so? What ... social 14 Social Darwinism—The Failure of the Darwinian Revolution.
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. problems and tensions ... human psyches and societies virtually untouched. Why has this been so? What ... social 14 Social Darwinism—The Failure of the Darwinian Revolution.
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From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. today. In the mid-nineteenth century, science, theology, philosophy, and social ... human life was to be guided. In the new science of society, the use of biological concepts and analogies ...
From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye. today. In the mid-nineteenth century, science, theology, philosophy, and social ... human life was to be guided. In the new science of society, the use of biological concepts and analogies ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
2 From Metaphysics to Molecular Biology | 44 |
3 From Molecular Biology to Social Theory | 77 |
The Natural Theology of E O Wilson | 95 |
5 The Popularization of Human Sociobiology | 136 |
Conclusion | 156 |
Epilogue | 167 |
References | 191 |
Index | 205 |
Other editions - View all
The Social Meaning of Modern Biology: From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye Limited preview - 2017 |
The Social Meaning of Modern Biology: From Social Darwinism to Sociobiology Howard Kaye No preview available - 2017 |
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adaptive Alexander altruism animal appeared argue ascetic assumptions attempt Bannister 1979 Barash belief biological humanists biologists brain choice Christian claims concepts contemporary critics cultural evolution Darwinian Dawkins determinism E. O. Wilson environment ethics eugenics evolutionary biology evolutionary process existence extrascientific fact faith Francis Crick function genetic code genetic control Gunther Stent hopes human behavior human culture human evolution human mind human nature human social human sociobiology Huxley hypertrophy ical ideological implications inclusive fitness individual intellectual Jacques Monod Judson Lamarckism living lution Max Delbrück means mechanisms metaphysical molecular biology moral myth natural selection organism perspective philosophical reductionism physical political popular problem progress purpose reductionism reductionist religion religious replication reproductive role Schrödinger scientists selfish genes sense simply social behavior social Darwinism social Darwinists social evolution species Spencer spiritual struggle Sumner survival T. H. Huxley theorists tion traditional values Waddington Wallace Western