Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and BeyondFor the last twenty-five years, sociobiologists have come under continuous attack by a group of left-wing academics, who have accused the former of dubious and politically dangerous science. Many have taken the critics' charges at face value. But have the critics been right? And what aretheir own motivations? This book strives to set the record straight. It shows that the criticism has typically been unfair. Still, it cannot be dismissed as 'purely politically motivated'. It turns out that the critics and the sociobiologists live in different worlds of taken-for-grantedscientific and moral convictions. The conflict over sociobiology is best interpreted as a drawn-out battle about the nature of 'good science' and the social responsibility of the scientist, while it touches on such grand themes as the unity of knowledge, the nature of man, and free will anddeterminism. The author has stepped right into the hornet's nest of claims and counterclaims, moral concerns, metaphysical beliefs, political convictions, strawmen, red herrings, and gossip, gossip, gossip. She listens to the protagonists - but also to theircolleagues. She checks with 'arbiters'. She plays the devil's advocate. And everyone is eager to tell her the truth - as they see it. The picture that emerges is a different one from the standard view of the sociobiology debate as a politically motivated nature-nurture conflict. Instead, we areconfronted with a world of scientific and moral long-term agendas, for which the sociobiology debate became a useful vehicle. Behind the often nasty attacks, however, were shared Enlightenment concerns for universal truth, morality and justice. The protagonists were all defenders of the truth - itwas just that everyone's truth was different. Defenders of the Truth provides a fascinating insight into the world of science. It follows the sociobiology controversy as it erupted at Harvard in 1975 until today, both in the US and the UK. But the story goes more deeply, for instance in itsaccount of the circumstances surrounding W.D. Hamilton's famous 1964 paper on inclusive fitness, and on the connections of the sociobiology debate to the Human Genome project and the Science Wars. General readers and academics alike will find much to savour in this book. |
Contents
The storm over Sociobiology | 13 |
Wilsons and Lewontins contrary | 35 |
The British connection | 53 |
The deep background of sociobiology | 79 |
Assault on adaptationisma delayed scientific critique | 101 |
The unit of selection and the connection with culture | 127 |
Genes Mind and Culture | 157 |
The moralpolitical conflict continues | 177 |
Conflicting views of the nature of science | 275 |
Capitalizing on controversy | 295 |
taking stock after 25 years | 307 |
Truth by dispute? The sociobiology debate and the Science Wars | 333 |
Interpreting the Enlightenment quest | 349 |
The tension between scientific and moral truth | 373 |
The battle for the soul and for the soul of science | 391 |
Notes | 409 |
Inside the mind of the critics | 199 |
Planters and weeders in the garden of science | 215 |
To be or not to bein the sociobiology controversy | 235 |
A clash of traditions | 255 |
References | 429 |
Glossary | 469 |
Index | 477 |
Copyright | |
Other editions - View all
Defenders of the Truth: The Sociobiology Debate Ullica Christina Olofsdotter Segerstråle No preview available - 2000 |