What Can We Make of Sociobiology?

Wilson describes his much discussed new book as a speculative essay in defense of scientific materialism or “the new naturalism.” At the core of his view is “the evolutionary epic.” Everything in the universe, the mind included, evolved into its present condition. Humans are nothing but physico-biological entities with brains composed of ten billion nerve cells. It follows, Wilson says without further ado, that we are faced with two “dilemmas.” The first is that “we have no particular place to go. The species lacks any goal external to its own biological nature.” Even if mankind can avoid destroying itself by war or exhausting its resources on gadgets, the species will be left without ̶...