The Morality of the GeneAn Excerpt from Sociobiology: The New Synthesis By Edward O. Wilson Reviewed by: A.J. Napier

Biographical Information E.O. Wilson was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929. His field of study ants (myrmecology). An Eagle Scout and Nature Director of his Boy Scout summer camp, he became very interested in insects, and at 18 was intent on become an entomologist. Due to a shortage of insect pins resulting from World War II, his insect collections were limited, so he began to collect ants which could be kept in vials. At the urging of Marion R. Smith of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, he began an insect survey of the ant populations of Alabama, and is credited with the first report of fire ant populations in the United States, near the port in Mobile.

Biographical Information (cont.) At an early age, he lost eyesight in one eye due to a fishing accident. Fearing he might not be able to afford to attend university, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army. His enlistment was denied due his visual impairment.

Graduating from high school in 1946, he was able to enroll at the University of Alabama, receiving both a B.S. and an M.S. in Biology in only 4 years. He then received his PhD in Biology from Harvard University in 1955. Currently holds position at Harvard University as: Museum of Comparative Zoology Faculty Curator, Emeritus Pellegrino University Professor, Emeritus

Theories Some of Dr. Wilsons theories include: The Epic of Evolution

An attempt to define the creation of the universe while reconciling the religious and scientific into an all-encompassing mythos. Dr. Wilsons study of insect behavior has influenced, and been influenced by, many theoreticians. On Karl Marx, Dr. Wilson stated, [he] was right, socialism works, it is just that he had the wrong species. Ants are forced to work and live communally because they lack reproductive independence, where humans are not so impaired in this manner, i.e. the survival of the queen is directly in line with the survival of the species.

Ants and Social Insects

Consilience The uniting of science with the humanities. Human nature, he defines, as a collection of epigenetic rules, and states culture is a product of human nature, and not a part. He states elements of human nature such as art appreciation, phobias, and incest taboos can be scientifically studied, and no longer reside within the sole realm of the soft

I am sure some of you have opinions about the automatous nature of the human animal, and its relation to the behavioral aspects of social insect populations, so maybe you see where this is going. And so, without further ado, I present his most defining theories

WAIT ! WHAT COULD MYRMECOLOGIST POSSIBLY ABOUT ANTHROPOLOGY?

A KNOW

The Unit & Target of Selection The Unit and Target of Selection Dr. Wilson argues the unit of selection is the gene, the basic element of heredity. The target of selection is normally the individual who carries an ensemble of genes of certain kinds. He states the behavior of insects, and by extension all animals, tends toward almost Darwinian aspects of group selection.

Sociobiology Sociobiology Defines social behaviors as a product of evolution and attempts to examine social behavior as such. Just as natural selection places pressures on organisms leading to the most fit methods of environmental interaction, genetic tendencies toward beneficial social behavior also arise. It views evolution as not only a means to derive the best physical traits given a particular environment, but also as a method by which the most profitable social behaviors are selected for. Dr. Wilson defined sociobiology as the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization. Lett defines sociobiology as social reductionism, defined as the theory that every complex phenomenon can be explained by analyzing the simplest, most basic physical mechanisms that are in operation during the phenomenon. (Dictionary.com)

Sociobiology (cont.) The basic tenets of the theory are: