sociobiology means the science that applies the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of social behaviour in both humans and animals. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
sociobiology is pronounced /ˌsəʊ.si.əʊ.baɪˈɒ.lə.d͡ʒi/.
Why “sociobiology” is a great word
The scientific discipline that applies evolutionary biology to the study of social behavior in animals, including humans. From the combining form socio- (pertaining to society) + biology (the study of life); popularized by E. O. Wilson's 1975 work 'Sociobiology: The New Synthesis'. Unlike ethology, which charts the proximate mechanics of a bee's waggle dance, or evolutionary psychology, which probes the adapted architecture of the human mind, sociobiology seeks the ultimate calculus of genetic fitness in every social bond. It is the mathematical altruism of a worker bee, the calculated nepotism in a monkey troop's grooming, and the stark logic of a peacock's extravagant tail—a vision of the social world not as mere accident, but as a deep, inherited strategy written in the slow ink of survival.
Etymology
From socio- + biology, popularized by E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975).
noun
- The science that applies the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of social behaviour in both humans and animals.“Sociobiology forms a unifying theory of the social interactions in the human and in the animal world. Its principle unifying human and animal societies is the maximisation of genetic fitness by the individual.”