DEVELOPMENTS IN SOCIAL TERMINOLOGY - SEMANTIC BATTLES IN A CONCEPTUALWAR

The problems posed by the evolution of the diverse forms of animal soc iality are among the most important and fascinating in evolutionary bi ology. The conceptual and terminological framework guiding studies of social evolution has been based on a particular insect model, namely, that of highly derived family-structured societies. Virtually all othe r social systems have been categorized as 'less social' relative to th ese societies. Recently, the ambiguities and constraints inherent in t his hierarchical classification have led to numerous proposals to amen d social terminology. What is the best framework for studying social e volution ? Should the traditional classification be expanded, narrowed or abandoned altogether ? In an important respect, most recent propos als present the same wine in a different bottle by retaining and recas ting key terms of the traditional social-evolutionary classification.