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Work #751 · Late

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Edward O. Wilson
1975 · English
Scientific treatise · Late-twentieth-century evolutionary biology / sociobiology

E. O. Wilson's 1975 founding treatise of sociobiology — the biology of social behavior

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

The evolutionary time of behavioral adaptation.

Space

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

The ecological space of social behavior.

Matter

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Behaving organisms in evolutionary lineages.

Observer

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

The sociobiological observer.

Energy

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Energies of social-behavioral selection.

Information

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Genetic information underlying social behavior.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Sociobiology: The New Synthesis

Wilson's Sociobiology: foundational for evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology; controversial application to human behavior shaped late-twentieth-century science wars.