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Single Idea 20662

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 1. A People / c. A unified people ]

Full Idea

Societies are ordered around six sociobiological principles: kin selection; parental investment; mating strategy; status; territorial expansion and defence; contractual agreement.

Gist of Idea

The biology of societies: kin selection, parenting, mating; status, territory, contracts

Source

Edmund O. Wilson (Consilience [1998], 19 'Intro'), quoted by Peter Watson - Convergence

Book Ref

Watson,Peter: 'Convergence' [Simon and Schuster 2016], p.450

A Reaction

I'm not sure I trust such a precise list. Personally I'm in society because I'm too frightend to drop out. So where is 'defence'? Still, I like attempts at assembling such a list. Politics needs grounding.

The 14 ideas from Edmund O. Wilson

20662 The biology of societies: kin selection, parenting, mating; status, territory, contracts [Wilson,EO]
5308 The only human purpose is that created by our genetic history [Wilson,EO]
5311 If observation goes up a level, we expect the laws of the lower level to remain in force [Wilson,EO]
5309 Beliefs are really enabling mechanisms for survival [Wilson,EO]
5310 Philosophers study the consequences of ethics instead of its origins [Wilson,EO]
5313 The rules of human decision-making converge and overlap in a 'human nature' [Wilson,EO]
5312 A child first sees objects as distinct, and later as members of groups [Wilson,EO]
5314 Cultural evolution is Lamarckian and fast, biological evolution is Darwinian and slow [Wilson,EO]
5315 Over 99 percent of human evolution has been in the hunter-gatherer phase [Wilson,EO]
5318 Pure hard-core altruism based on kin selection is the enemy of civilisation [Wilson,EO]
5316 We undermine altruism by rewarding it, but we reward it to encourage it [Wilson,EO]
5317 The actor is most convincing who believes that his performance is real [Wilson,EO]
5320 It is estimated that mankind has produced 100,000 religions [Wilson,EO]
22187 Genetic behaviours that have enhanced human success include aggression, rape and xenophobia [Wilson,EO, by Okasha]