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.