Re: Sociobiology Debate
Greg Stevens (stevens@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu)
Sat, 25 Feb 95 13:01:34 GMT
In <772E1E58B32F@alce.pt> pcastelo@alce.pt (Paulo Castelo) writes:
>In article <3ijo5s$999@rebecca.albany.edu>
>pn8886@csc.albany.edu (Phil Nicholls) writes:
> PN> Ok, let's take a specific example and talk about it. If we look
> PN> at various cultures one thing that tends to stand out is male
> PN> dominance. That seems to be pretty much a universal. If we
> PN> Is the act of asking the question (Is there a biological basis for
> PN> male dominance?) a validation of male dominance?
>Like you, I asked myself a lot about that question and I must
>agree with you. I think that there is a biological basis for that
>phenomenom and others in our species.
Take a look at stuff by Allen Mazur. He did an article in 1985 on the
function of testosterone in relation to dominance behavior in primates.
In the context of the sociobiology debate in general, I think stuff like
what he is doing is the right way to go -- that is, approaching socio-
biology from physiology and innate mechanisms guiding behavior, rather
than rather loose analogies from evolution.
Greg Stevens
stevens@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu
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