BIO318Y5 Lecture Notes - Sociobiology, Biological Determinism, Demographic Transition
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Selective thinking: no theory about anything extrinsic in the universe will ever hold so much intrigue or encounter as much resistance as a theory about ourselves r. d. D. gwynne"s ancestral fertility: more than 50% drop in fertility rate (from 7 offsprings to about 2-3) The demographic transition : same trend is going on around the world, first decade in last century started dropping by more than half to present day, correlates with industrial revolution. Using an evolutionary ( natural ) understanding of human nature to inform how humans should behave: e. o wilson (of sociobiology fame) example. Male should go out to find extra mates to increase fitness; it doesn"t have anything to say about morality. Understanding how we are, and not how we"re supposed to be. Moore principia ethica (1903)): is does not equal ought: valid empirical research are trying to understand rape.