This tome was very informative and very thorough. It was also way too dense for most lay people. If it was intended as a textbook, it serves the purpose well. Not so much as a little light reading.

"Camus said that the only serious philosophical question is suicide. That is wrong even in the strict sense intended. The biologist, who is concerned with questions of physiology and evolutionary history, realizes that self-knowledge is constrained and shaped by the emotional control centers in the hypothalamus and limbic system of the brain. These centers flood our consciousness with all the emotions–hate, love, guilt, fear, and others–that are consulted by the ethical philosophers who wish to

Wow. WAAAAAAAAAAAAY over my head on this one, but when I could parse out meaning, it was pretty cool stuff. I mean, cool in the sense that it validated all of my thinking with regards to why animals, people in particular, act like they do.I imagine that this book is to modern animal behavior science what the Pythagorean theorem is to geometry: a very simple representation of some very basic principles that, when expounded upon, lead to some real revelatory shit.That being said, I picked at this

Sociobiology – The Field That Dare Not Speak its NameOn publication, the reception accorded Wilson’s ‘Sociobiology’ was divided.Among biologists, the reception was overwhelmingly laudatory. My 25th anniversary edition proclaims on its cover that it was voted by officers and fellows of the Animal Behavior Society as the most important ever book on animal behavior.Yet, on the other side of campus, the reception was largely hostile. Indeed, sociobiology became almost a dirty word in the social scie...

One of my favorites!

Incredible text; a book to double check through one's library before purchasing a copy. There is nothing I can add here or elsewhere, and so this is more of a digital note to self than a review. You'll never have to do anything save suppress a philosophical roll of the eyes the next time one hears, "It doesn't make sense why so many ______ people do ________!" Well, it actually makes perfect sense if one is willing to skip the futile political protest and give E.O. Wilson some serious time. Then...

Read the original in college...will always be relevant. Humans are animals, get over it. Humans are special, so is every living thing.

I skimmed a lot of this because much is out of date. It is very long--large pages with 2 columns, and this is the abridged version! I wish the last chapter had not been cut so much because the arguments are interesting but not lengthy enough to be more than simply hints in particular directions. Also, Wilson's ideas about the future growth of scientific knowledge are optimistic enough to be funny.There are some interesting concepts but of course the most entertaining parts are the descriptions o...

Makes so much sense....

Contains full text of the hardcover first published in the 1970's. I read and studied the hardcover during the early 1980's. An impressive work whether or not you have the same or different perspectives, assumptions, analogies as the author.

This isn’t hardline biological determinism, as was thought at the time, and most of it is rigorous recapitulation of evolved animal behaviour. But the speculative claims about humanity bookending it are not very convincing, and basically amount to unacknowledged ideology. Still, the basic project of sociobiology doesn’t strike me as intrinsically problematic, and I think we should read and learn from Wilson.

A classic. Long and requires a significant commitment, this book is a text that serves better as a reference. Reading the chapters on primates for a full appreciation of its significance and controversy

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, Edward O. WilsonSociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975; 25th anniversary edition 2000) is a book by the biologist E. O. Wilson. Edward O. Wilson popularized the term "Sociobiology" as an attempt to explain the evolutionary mechanics behind social behavior such as altruism, aggression, and the nurturing of the young. Contents: Part I. Social Evolution: 1. The Morality of the Gene; 2. Elementary Concepts of Sociobiology; 3. The Prime Movers of Social Evolution; 4. T...

Amazing that so many nuts object to this book. Basically humans are just another animal, behave like animals and have instincts like animals, below the veneer of civilisation and intelligence. Only egotistical people (such as creationists) would believe otherwise. Get over yourselves! Wilson has been assaulted and vilified for daring to articulate this simple fact! A science hero!

Quite amazing how social structures span so many different species, from communication, hierarchies, leaders, learning, groups, love, emotions and altruism. We as a species are advanced but not so unique. Fascinating how certain species naturally adapt in a few generations (or perish) in response to resource constraints and overpopulation. How little we know of life, intertwined nature and our past.

I'm a sociologist and Wilson is kind of the boogey man to us. I was pleasantly surprised though when finally reading this. Not because I think he explains much human social stuff, but because he's much more modest than reductionists like Dawkins, and he at least nominally recognizes the issue of multiple levels of reality and analysis that probably can't be simply collapsed into each other. So; not a major threat to socials science, but ants are definitely cool.

A very comprehensive foray into the lives of animals and their behavior. Why animals behave the way they do. How they behave. Where you can find them and how you can make sense of their behavior. Why is the lion pride structured the way it is, why do matriarchs lead elephant herds, and why do wildebeest run around wildly. Answer these questions and more. A fascinating read. Highly recommended.

Edward O. Wilson is an American biologist among many other things and was nicknamed 'darwin's natural heir' and the "father of biological diversity."https://www.britannica.com/biography/..." He gained those names because of his huge attributes to sociobiology, which is the integrative study of social behaviors, based on the idea that all behavior is adaptive. And "Sociobiology attempts to understand and explain animal (and human) social behavior in the light of natural selection and other biolog...

Wilson was excoriated by many prominent "leftish intellectuals" when this book came out and for some time thereafter. Since then Sociobiology applied to non-human animals has become dogma and human Sociobiology has re-emerged under the name Evolutionary Psychology. In other words, "The New Synthesis" has won! Despite so many people coming down hard on him, E.O. Wilson is a wonderful, gentle, civilized good human, deep thinker and great scientist. I'm glad for this abridged version of his magnum

As a nature writer, I deeply enjoy E.O. Wilson's work. In Sociobiology (and the new edition with lots of lovely photos, etc.), I am less thrilled. Sociobiology tends to assume (and not necessarily demonstrate) that all behaviors are genetically determined. This may be a tempting assumption to make when speaking about, say, insects, but the assumption is held throughout the animal kingdom. It is quite easy to fall into the adaptationism viewpoint; easy, but not necessarily scientifically accurate...