Book Description
Communication is essential for all forms of social interaction, from parental care to mate choice and cooperation. This is evident for human societies but less obvious for bacterial biofilms, ant colonies or flocks of birds. The major disciplines of communication research have tried to
identify common core principles, but syntheses have been few because historical barriers have limited interaction between different research fields.

Sociobiology of Communication is a timely and novel synthesis. It bridges many of the gaps between proximate and ultimate levels of analysis, between empirical model systems, and between biology and the humanities. The book offers the complementary approaches of a distinguished group of
authors spanning a large diversity of research programs, addressing, for example, the genetic basis of bacterial communication, dishonest communication in insect societies, sexual selection and network communication among colonial vertebrates. Other chapters explore the role of communication in
genomic conflict and self-organisation, and how linguistics, psychology and philosophy may ultimately contribute to a biological understanding of human mate choice and the evolution of human societies.

This highly interdisciplinary book highlights key examples of modern research to explore the genetic, neurobiological, physiological, chemical and behavioural basis of social communication. It identifies where consensus on the general principles is emerging and where the major future challenges are
to be found. The book is therefore suitable for both for graduate students and professionals in evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology seeking novel inspiration, and for a wider academic audience, including social and medical scientists who would like to explore what evolutionary approaches
can offer to their fields. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the most important anthropology books ever.
This book builds on the kinship theories of Wilson's sociobiology, applying these principles in a startling and radical way to well known anthropological data--the cultures around the globe and through the ages as recorded by ethnographers.This book is a classic, and a MUST for those interested in the story of mankind ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, published by Institute on Religion and Public Life on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 5764 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Against Sociobiology.
Author: Tom Bethell
Publication: First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Institute on Religion and Public Life
Page: 18

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from New Criterion, published by Foundation for Cultural Review on February 1, 2001. The length of the article is 3665 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Exorcising sociobiology.
Author: Paul R. Gross
Publication: New Criterion (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2001
Publisher: Foundation for Cultural Review
Volume: 19Issue: 6Page: 24

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This volume analyzes the behaviorl interactions between infant and adult male baboons. The result is the first quantitative description of infant-adult male relations for any higher primate, including humans. The idea that emerges is that infant-adult male relations are far more complex than the mere paternal caretaking or exploitation that has previously been assumed, and these relations are specific, long-term, reciprocal, and beneficial to both infants and the adult males. The book also deals with many current topics of interest, including parental investment, kidnapping, altruism, food sharing, agonistic buffering, adoption, and infanticide. ... Read more