Sociobiology is an interdisciplinary science originally popularized by social insect researcher E.O. Wilson in the 1970s. Wilson defined science as “the extension of population biology and evolutionary theory to social organization.” The main thrust of sociobiology is that animal and human behaviour, including aggressiveness and other social interactions, can be explained almost solely in terms of genetics and natural selection.

This science is controversial; noted scientists such as the late Stephen Jay Gould criticized the approach for ignoring the environmental effects on behaviour. This is another example of the “nature versus nurture” debate of the role of genetics versus the role of the environment in determining an organism’s characteristics.

Sociobiology also links genes with behaviours and has been associated with “biological determinism,” the belief that all behaviours are hardwired into our genes. No one disputes that certain behaviours can be inherited and that natural selection plays a role in retaining them. It is the application of such principles to human behaviour that sparks this controversy, which remains active today.