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I have not read anything by EOW but intend to.
Sociobiology’s roots go back to the discovery of evolution itself, if not earlier; Wilson is only one of many contributors. Controversy is part and parcel of the intellectual progress. I don’t think there’s any question that behavior is in part inherited and can be affected by natural selection.
But human behavior is complex, and the more so than animals, because we do have complex language as well as physical culture in the form of technology. So it’s not clear that sociobiology can do much to contribute to our understanding of human behavior overall. It’s probably just as well if it can’t: we already have too many corporations and political groups in the business of influencing human behavior without such ‘understanding’.
Animals (including insects) appear to be ‘simpler’ and amenable to explanations of this sort.
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