Volume 25, Number 15 · October 12, 1978
The Illusion of Sociobiology
By Stuart Hampshire
On Human Nature
by Edward O. Wilson
Harvard University Press, 260 pp., $12.50
The tradition of mixing the concepts of biology with philosophy and Weltanschauung stretches back into the last century and has Comte and Spencer as its unfortunate leaders: unfortunate, because their works are by now largely unreadable. Professor Wilson is sharply aware that his writing belongs to this tradition and he is aware of the dangers and deceptions within the tradition; particularly the danger that yesterday's scientific speculations soon acquire a fusty look. Having been born in the excitement of today's discoveries, they are then extrapolated into a golden scientific future, which turns out to be quite different.
Review, 6115 words
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