THE FUTURE OF SOCIOBIOLOGY - COUNTING BABIES OR STUDYING PROXIMATE MECHANISMS

Much of the debate over applying the theory of evolution to the study of human behaviour has died down because most critics now realize that the political ramifications of sociobiology are no more, or no less, than those of behaviourism, psychoanalysis or cognitive science. But c ontroversy remains. It is scientific, and concerns the 'proper' way to do human sociobiology. I contrast the perspective of those sociobiolo gists who use the approach of behavioural ecology, and who have come t o be known as 'darwinian anthropologists' or 'darwinian social scienti sts', with their critics, who refer to themselves as evolutionary or ' darwinian psychologists', describe the research methods that each uses , and ask if those issues must also be confronted by those studying an imals.