The Chronicle: Colloquy: The question

THE QUESTION

Oxford University Press has just published a book -- Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and Beyond, by Ullica Segerstråle -- that explores a 25-year-old debate about the evolutionary basis of human behavior. The book looks at the motives and beliefs of such key figures as Edward O. Wilson, Stephen Jay Gould, and Richard C. Lewontin and concludes that the debate was fundamentally one of "genuine and deep scientific disagreement." Others argue that this dispute shows that scientists bring ideologies and politics to their work. Is Ms. Segerstråle's analysis correct? What does the 25-year-old debate over sociobiology say about the state of science? Was the debate primarily about the political agendas scientists bring to research, or about fundamental differences in scientific conclusions? Has research in sociobiology made valuable contributions to science, or has it contributed ammunition to social Darwinists?

For further information, see this background article:

Why the 25-Year-Old Battle Over Sociobiology Is More Than Just 'an Academic Sideshow' (7/7/2000)

: 19 RESPONSES (New 11/26)

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