Sociobiology & Evolutionary Psychology —Ency Religion 2005

"Sociobiology and Evolutionary Psychology: An Overview." Pages 8473-8477 (vol. 12) in Lindsay Jones, editor-in-chief, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition (Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, Thomson/Gale, 2005). Online at: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/37321

Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology are related fields both of which claim that biology is the principal determinant in human affairs. A frequent motif is that the basic thrust of all life is "selfish." Critics claim that there is, even in biology, more than one way of framing this behavior. Further, this fails to recognize the novel dimensions emergent with human culture. Persons with essentially the same genetic makeup can be converted from one worldview to another. Humans often operate with more inclusive religious and moral convictions that have little to do with selfish genes.