Abstract

This dissertation examines the historical aspects of sociobiology--in the main the sociobiological writings and theories of Edward O. Wilson--and their wider implications as expressed in the coevolutionary theory of Charles J. Lumsden and Edward O. Wilson. Chapter 1 deals with the writings of Charles Darwin, and Herbert Spencer, insofar as they pertain to what has been termed 'Social Darwinism'. In Chapter 2 I trace aspects of Wilson's intellectual development that led him to the development of the science of sociobiology. Attention is paid to his penchant for reduction and synthesis as exemplified early in his career through study of the social insects and the particular the social behaviour of ants. In Chapter 3 I give special consideration to sociobiology and to the reception and critiques of Wilson's book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis and how he developed the theory of coevolution in collaboration with Lumsden. In Chapter 4 I describe the coevolutionary theory of Lumsden and Wilson as they proposed it in Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process . I concentrate especially on their proposed epigenetic rules with particular attention on the epigenetic rule for 'incest avoidance', to highlight the controversial nature of the concept of the epigenetic rules. The conclusion will be drawn that, although Lumsden and Wilson's coevolutionary theory was, and still is, highly controversial and perhaps not entirely satisfactory, it should nevertheless not be dismissed out of hand. It has been alleged that Lumsden and Wilson's coevolutionary theory is a cold, mechanical, and depersonalised treatment of human nature. I try to counter this argument in Chapter 5 Part I, where I show that the coevolutionary theory can be accommodated within a natural philosophy of human spirit and spirituality. To that end I utilise the philosophy of Nicolai Hartmann as propounded in his book Das Problem des Geistigen Seins and try to show how human spirituality, as seen by Hartmann, can be accommodated within the coevolutionary theory of Lumsden and Wilson. In Chapter 5 Part II, I argue on a similar basis for the compatibility of coevolutionary theory with the theory of the archetypes as expressed in the works of Carl Gustav Jung , with special attention to his work The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious . It is then proposed that by integrating the theory coevolution and that of the archetypes, a genetic origin of human myths and mythology is a strong possibility. Chapter 6 deals mainly with the possible application of sociobiology and the theory of coevolution to the question of individual personal responsibility and concludes with a plea for the unification of the 'hard' and 'soft' sciences by showing how both could profit from such a unification