ABSTRACT
One of the most persistent cleavages in the social sciences is the opposition between two lines of thought conveniently associated with Adam Smith and Emile Durkheim, between homo economicus and homo sociologicus. Social norms must be distinguished from a number of other, related phenomena. First, social norms differ from moral norms. Some moral norms, like those derived from utilitarian ethics, are consequentialist. Secondly, social norms differ from legal norms. Some social norms can be individually useful, such as the norm against drinking or overeating. The chapter considers a number of arguments that have been made to the effect that social norms are “nothing but” instruments of individual, collective or genetic optimization. A tendency to conform to a social norm might detract from genetic fitness and yet be retained by natural selection if it is the by-product of a gene whose main product is highly beneficial.
