Abstract

The relationship between sociology and the natural Sciences is one of contention and debate. Especially with reference to the potential interaction with sociobiology, discussions have run high. In the course of its development, sociobiology gained from theoretical evolutions in behavioural ecology and evolutionary psychology, resulting in a fairly comprehensive evolutionary-biological model of human social behaviour. In a relatively short time span, developments in this paradigm resulted in many data and insights concerning fields as social networks, power relations, sociodemographic phenomena, social interaction, ... At the same time, both anthropology and psychology encourage interaction with evolutionary biology. This is the background for a discussion on the relationship between sociology and the evolutionary biology of social behaviour. First, we assert the reasons for the lack of interdisciplinarity, despite a number of attempts in this direction. After an exposition on the nature of the evolutionary paradigm on social behaviour, we identify the fundamental conceptual differences between sociology and evolutionary biological frameworks. This, among other things, is basis then, for a plea in favour of clearly structured and defined interdisciplinary research program. This can be based on a hierarchically structured theoretical program.

How to Cite:

Thienpont, K., (2002) “De relatie tussen sociologie en evolutie-biologie: een analyse en een agenda voor verdere wisselwerking”, Tijdschrift voor Sociologie 23(1), 45–73. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86543