Sociobiology - A Caricature of Darwinism

Darwin's theory of evolution by means of natural selection is an extremely powerful explanatory device. For its rigorous application to any phenomenon it requires only that some form of variation in the manifestation of the phenomenon exists, that the variations can persist in time, and that the properties of the variants cause them to have different average persistence times. So, for example, one could make a Darwinian explanation of the frequency of different sorts of rocks. There is variation in the hardness of rocks, they persist in time and indeed are being formed anew, and the harder rocks are more "adapted" to survive the weathering and erosion of wind and water. A similar story can be told about political parties, rumors, jokes, stars and discarded soft drink containers. The metaphors of "adaptation" and natural selection can cover even a wider domain of explanation if one does not demand rigorous demonstration of actual differences in persistence of variants or of the causes of such variation. So, for example, language dialects, sexual attitudes and practices and the ownership of private property, are all phenomena that are known to vary both historically, geographically and individually. All one needs for a Darwinian explanation of the evolution of such phenomena is a plausible story of why the different variants might have different survival value, either at the individual, group or species level. I shall call this practice of providing an ad hoc Darwinian explanation for any phenomenon, Darwinizing, by analogy with "harmonizing" in which facile harmonies are built spontaneously around a theme for the sake of a few moment's enjoyment.