ABSTRACT
The concept of sociobiology had been around for some time before publication of E. O. Wilson’s New Synthesis stimulated an upsurge of public attention. In effect, biology and bureaucracy are approaching a confrontation comparable to the philosophical conflict between physical science and the medieval church. Sociobiology represents a more focused and coherent singular approach to its subject matter. Sociobiology, selectively incorporates some elements from all the social and behavioral sciences and substantial parts of the humanities while omitting others. The sociobiological concept of “reproductive success” may be described as the extent to which an organism contributes its genes to succeeding generations of the species. Masters’ proposition has been advanced to illustrate a type of theoretical statement that can be derived from sociobiology. The deliberate terminating of nascent life through abortion or infanticide provides illustration of how, under some circumstances, sociobiological tendencies can in the minds of some people “legitimize” behaviors otherwise regarded as repugnant.
