On Human Nature

The synthetic nature of the sociobiological approach comprises ethology, ecology, and genetics. Sociobiology determines “how social groups adapt to the environment by evolution” (17). In other words, it studies how biology—one’s genetics—determines culture, behavior, ethics, and habits. While biology is the study of living organisms—and thus is excused for drawing conclusions at a microscopic level—sociobiology aims to situate humans in a wider net of living organisms, thus taking a macroscopic view of the issue at hand.

Edward O. Wilson declares that the social scientists who remain convinced that “social behavior can be shaped into virtually any form” (18) are misinformed, and that nothing could be further from the truth. While it is true that culture is a determining factor in the development of human behavior, a person is not a blank slate upon which everything can be inscribed. Social behavior is largely genetically determined. This genetic determinism is highlighted when the human animal is compared to “lower” species of the animal kingdom. The higher up a species is in the chain of the animal kingdom—from insects, to small mammals, to birds, and eventually apes and monkeys—the closer they resemble human behavior, society, and relational structure.

However, no matter how similar human behavior may seem to the behavior of even the most developed and intelligent apes, it is ultimately different. Human behavior is unique, and this is due to the genetic predisposition and determinism found at the genetic source; in fact, “if people were somehow raised from birth in an environment devoid of most cultural influence, they would construct basic elements of human social life” (23) from the very start. The adaptability of humankind is displayed through “three basic components of genetic fitness” (32-33): increased survival, increased reproductive activity, and the increased survival and reproductive activity of one’s close relations. When these components are present, the process of natural selection will ensure the ongoing preservation of favored genes—those that contribute to human flourishing—and will contribute to the defining characteristics of the species.

Wilson goes on to discuss how the continued development of human culture and behavior requires scientific evidence, and that philosophical and societal norms will need to conform to science. For most of human history, behavior has been beholden to the genetics of the species, but it is possible that human evolution has reached a kind of apex point, and that our knowledge of science can influence human self-determination going forward—seen most clearly in cultural evolution. The differences between cultures and societies are almost exclusively due to “learning and social conditioning rather than [anything] heredity” (48), and thus desirable differences will be based on teaching future generations new learned behavior.