title: Is the holocaust relevant to sociobiology?
abstract: Sociobiologists have emphasized that altruism and benevolent behavior are part of the genetic repertoire of most animals and certainly of man. They have constructed a theory of "ethics" as a biological phenomenon without reference to the concept of evil. It is concluded here however, that holocaust behavior is not equivalent to the "natural manifestation of an incompletely tamed animal flashing its teeth." Biologists have been too rigid in trying to equate "ethical behavior" with "social behavior." The added dimension of ethical behavior is a special kind of sensitivity to the needs of others, just as evil is the total lack of it. The evolution of this moral sense may itself have important selective value for the human species, whose survival depends on creating maximal diversity in its gene pool.
authors: Anatomical Sciences at Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of the City University of New York, USA.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Hamburgh