ABSTRACT
The principal achievement of biological science in the twentieth century was its unfolding of how the secret of life is coded into the genes. This achievement in genetic and molecular biology has been coupled with Darwinian evolutionary biology resulting in a synthesis with great explanatory power. A number of scientists have recently argued that this new Darwinian synthesis has much greater scope of application than many have previously thought. They are ready to apply evolutionary theory to all aspects of human existence and to develop a new Darwinian social and human science, holding that evolutionary theory can yield profound consequences for our understanding of human behaviour and institutions, and maintaining that survival and reproduction are the basic determinants in all human affairs.
