Tactful Approach

Edward O. Wilson is probably the most controversial entomologist of all time. Three years ago, the Harvard professor published a mammoth academic tome, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, arguing that social behavior has a biological base. The first 26 chapters on organisms and lower animals attracted little attention, but the final, almost offhand chapter on humans touched off the furor. Wilson speculated that the sexual division of labor is genetically based, genes may exist for homosexuality and spite, and a "loose correlation" is likely between genetically determined traits and worldly success. For his pains, Wilson was heckled, picketed and denounced as a sexist and racist.

Though some of Wilson's critics wildly distorted what he said, the professor was indeed ham-handed in applying the new sociobiological principles to humans. Now he has attempted to repair the damage with a new book, On Human Nature. While Wilson is more diplomatic in discussing the implications of sociobiology, he is adamant about his major point: all studies of mankind must start with biology, which shapes and limits human nature.

Still, Wilson's new discussion should mollify critics. On the subject of race, he says "evidence is strong that almost all differences between human societies are based on learning and social conditioning rather than heredity." Yet he sees some dissimilarities. For instance, he points to studies of newborns showing that Chinese American infants are far more placid than Caucasian American infants, presumably because of genetic differences.

Wilson finds a divergence in male and female behavior that he believes is dictated by genes. "In general," he says, "girls are predisposed to be more intimately sociable and less physically venturesome." But he calls this "a modest genetic difference" that could be overcome by careful training. While reaffirming his belief that homosexuality is also biologically based, Wilson sees "a strong possibility" that it evolved as an important element in early human society. His reasoning: by not breeding themselves, homosexuals allow more resources to be devoted to relatives, thus improving their chances of surviving and reproducing.

Some of Wilson's other views:

> Humans seem to have a genetic predisposition toward learning some form of communal aggression. The way to control it is to "create a confusion of cross-binding loyalties" to various groups.

> The incest taboo, the persistence of the nuclear family and the failure of slavery are all due to biological predispositions.

>Religion appears to confer a biological advantage on believers by promoting the welfare of the group. Biology limits the ways in which religion can evolve, and those different pathways "may not even be numerous."

To Wilson, mankind's greatest problem is that it is caught in the 20th century with a nature largely shaped by evolution to deal with ice-age problems. That nature, he says, "is a hodgepodge of special genetic adaptations to an environment largely vanished." How can humans cope? By discovering the programming built into the human brain and deciding which "censors and motivators" can and should be disobeyed. Only sociobiology, he concludes, can provide the "precise steering" to guide the human race.

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