Re: Patriarchy: Re: What Matriarchy?

Bryant (mycol1@unm.edu)
14 Aug 1996 22:37:05 -0600

In article <32111D4C.65DA@best.com>,
Joel and Lynn Gazis-Sax <gazissax@best.com> wrote:
>
>What my point has been all along is that you can take the same building
>blocks and get some dramatically different results. My primary example
>was the genotype and the phenotype distinction used in genetics to
>explain why two individuals can have the same genes and yet turn out
>quite differently.

You've also exaggerated your case almost as badly as behavioral
geneticists exaggerate the same issue in the other direction. Without
evidence, I might add.

>Vulgar sociobiologists (to use Sahlin's distinction)
>want to reduce all human behavior to a black box. Forget culture.
>Forget thought. It is all in the genes they say.

And, like Gould & Lewontin's "Panglossian" adaptationist, your vulgar
sociobiologist is a straw man. I know you flip when asked for
references, but really: list five sociobiologists who make claims
described by your above quote. Hell: name one!

>So does anyone who takes one sentence and goes into a half-cocked, completely
>denied, but utterly betrayed attack on a poster.

Heh. Man, talk about projection!

Bryant