Sociobiology vs Socioecology - Consequences of an Unraveling Debate

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Half-Title Page

Title Page

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Contents

Introduction

1. From Altruism to Sociobiology: Historical and Epistemological Summary

1.1. Introduction

1.2. The “social Darwinism” of the 19th Century

1.3. Reconquest of the quest: 20th Century social neo-Darwinism

1.4. Expansion, disintegration signs and recent defections

1.5. Missing or extra squares on the chessboard

1.5.1. Wilson's initial epistemological traffic: sociobiology and behavioral ecology

1.5.2. Communicating evasiveness: behavior, altruism, society, culture

1.5.3. Cut-short dispute and perverted controversy

1.6. Temporary theory and permanent fantasy: will sociobiology soon be superseded?

2. The Illusory Endorsement of Insects: Omissions and Arbitrary Choices

2.1. Entomologic stronghold and the place of social insects

2.1.1. Natural advantages of social entomology

2.1.2. A rival society, accessible to experimentation

2.1.3. The extent of “societies” in insects

2.2. Organicism, superorganism and monospecific society

2.3. The beacon built by Wilson

2.3.1. Classification and social ranks

2.3.2. The enumeration of social births

2.4. Missing questions

2.5. Stigmergy versus haplodiploidy: a “choice of society”?

2.5.1. Stigmergy: from problematic to theory

2.5.2. Socioecological stigmergy versus sociobiological haplodiploidy

2.6. Subsequently emerged information

2.6.1. Thrips

2.6.2. Aphids

2.6.3. Termites, again

2.7. Polyethism, polyphenism and monomania

3. Gray Langur Society and Chimpanzee Culture

3.1. Gray langur society shrunk to infanticide

3.1.1. Practical and theoretical parameters of the “case”

3.1.2. Strategic obsession and fact selection

3.1.3. From scorned comparison to repressed anthropology

3.2. Culture and chimpanzees

3.2.1. Bric-a-brac and difference in degrees

3.2.2. Distinction criterion and the surprise from chimpanzees

3.3. Non-natural selection of comparisons

4. On the Specificity of Human Sociality

4.1. Logic of inbreeding avoidance in non-human primates

4.1.1. Facts

4.1.2. Westermarck effect: difficulties in the face of simian facts

4.1.3. Sexual avoidance as a social fact

4.2. Logic of the incest prohibition in humans

4.2.1. Kinship: a form of intersubjectivity specific to humans

4.2.2. Birth is a metaphor, and also incest

4.2.3. Incest prohibition as a struggle for recognition

4.3. Regarding sexual division of labor and food sharing

4.3.1. Sexual division of labor as struggle for recognition

4.3.2. Sharing and recognition

4.3.3. Failure of sociobiological explanations

4.4. Outline of a socioecological explanation

4.4.1. Forgotten issue: ownership

4.4.2. Ecological efficacy of the hunting-gathering regime

4.4.3. Evolutionary pertinence of the hunting-gathering regime

5. The Sociobiological Force of Inertia and Socioecology Challenges: Conclusion

5.1. The meltdown of the debate

5.1.1. The disastrous confusion between the modes of discussion

5.1.2. The failure of sociobiology, demonstrated by Wilson

5.2. The epistemological obstacle behind the force of inertia

5.2.1. Ariadne's thread against history

5.2.2. Beanbag against interdependence

5.2.3. “All other things being equal”

5.2.4. Diagnosis on the force of inertia of sociobiology

5.3. Interaction, ecology and social sciences

5.4. Mutual respect, a condition of interdisciplinarity

5.5. Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

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