ABSTRACT
For Edward O. Wilson Sociobiology are a single, unified whole, possessed of a single "controlling vision," that of scientific objectivity. Although Wilson treats the problem of altruism as a one and its sociobiological solution, made possible by W. D. Hamilton's concept of inclusive fitness, as a breakthrough, the solution of the problem has long been known. Wilson's broader concerns are in fact signaled in the very first sentence of Sociobiology, where Wilson chooses to introduce "the essence of sociobiology" — its conceptualization of the evolutionary process and the definition of its central problem—through a discussion of Camus and ethical philosophy. In addition to organizing the new science of sociobiology, standardizing its central theoretical concepts, and outlining important areas for research, Wilson argues for a more rigorously scientific mode of reasoning from those engaged in the evolutionary biology of animal behavior.
