LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
J Hist Biol. 2023 Aug;56(2):365-397. doi: 10.1007/s10739-023-09719-7. Epub 2023 Jun 29.
When the sociobiology debate erupted in 1975, there were almost too many contributions to the heated exchanges between sociobiologists and their critics to count. In the fall of 1976, a Canadian educational film entitled Sociobiology: Doing What Comes Naturally sparked further controversy due to its graphic visuals and outrageous narration. While critics claimed the film was a promotional tool to further the sociobiological agenda in educational settings, sociobiologists quickly distanced themselves from the film and, in turn, accused the critics of consciously misrepresenting sociobiology by organizing showings of the film. Using audio, video, archival, and published sources, this paper explores the complicated history of Sociobiology: Doing What Comes Naturally and demonstrates how the public debate about the film reflects the positions, polemics, and polarization of the sociobiology debate as a whole.
当社会生物学辩论在 1975 年爆发时，社会生物学家及其批评者之间的激烈交流几乎多得数不清。1976 年秋天，一部名为《社会生物学：顺其自然》的加拿大教育影片因其生动的画面和令人震惊的旁白引发了更多的争议。虽然批评者声称这部电影是在教育环境中进一步推动社会生物学议程的宣传工具，但社会生物学家很快与这部电影保持距离，并反过来指责批评者通过组织这部电影的放映来故意歪曲社会生物学。本文使用音频、视频、档案和已发表的资料，探讨了《社会生物学：顺其自然》的复杂历史，并展示了关于这部电影的公开辩论如何反映了整个社会生物学辩论的立场、辩论和两极化。
