For many years, the link between sociology and biology has emerged as a distinctive field, led by deep scrutiny. From being ignored or simply taken as given as a biological basis of human existence, biology came to be seen as socially produced and regulated, and as fundamental to social interaction and identity, which make the two fields indispensable from each other.
What is the Link Between Sociology and Biology
Without doubt, links between biology and sociology may not be obviously understood by all and sundries as they are a wider fields. As we are abreast of, sociological science demonstrates how the social environment shapes cultural and scientific assumptions about what is biological and studies how biological assumptions shape social structures, culture, and interaction.
The history of biology traces the study of the living world from ancient to modern times. Although the concept of biology as a single coherent field arose in the 19th century, the biological sciences emerged from traditions of medicine and natural history reaching back to Ayurveda, ancient Egyptian medicine and the works of Aristotle and Galen in the ancient Greco-Roman world.
Quick History of Sociology
While on the other hand, the term sociology was first used by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity. In the academic world, sociology is considered one of the social sciences. While on the other hand, The term sociology was first used by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity. In the academic world, sociology is considered one of the social sciences that is of great importance in our lives.
Quick History of Biology
Biology can be said to be the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behaviour, origin, and distribution, and sociology also can be said to be the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.
Link Between Sociology and Biology
It is a known fact that biology presents us with this very knowledge that is very useful since it studies man’s origin and biological development with man’s development—sexual, anatomical and personal—and formulates principles for his adjustment to the environment. Darwinian Theory of evolution is just one such principle which has been used in sociology to good advantage. Human ecology is based upon biological ecology.
However, genetics, which is of major importance in sociology, can be said to be a branch of biology. Sociologists have taken a lot of assistance from it in connection with the improvement of species of breed. In sociology knowledge of the effects of heredity upon man is also much needed that is studied by biology. In sociology, the influence of biology upon the organic theory of society is very clear and evident. Knowledge of biology is essential for sociology when the problems studied are concerned with marriage and family.
Sociology and Evolutionary Biology
On the other hand, sociology has long been dominated by descriptive studies of social phenomenon, and theory in sociology has been characterized by myriad small theories of limited scope. Incorporation of method and theory from biology can change that. Theory from evolutionary biology has the potential to unify much sociological theory and become the central paradigm of sociology, much as it has unified biology, and to unify all the disparate threads of the current discipline of sociology into a fully fledged science.
For example, hinging on the evolutionary theories, revolutionary thinking is receiving new emphasis in the social sciences. Although evolutionary theories in biology are complex, changing, and often controversial, the basic concepts of variation, selection, and transmission potentially have powerful applications in sociology. In such uses, a crucial distinction must be made between developmental processes and evolutionary processes. Two main approaches characterize current evolutionary thinking in sociology: sociobiological explanations, and coevolutionary accounts of the interaction of genes and culture.
Also, evolution through natural selection can occur with genes, cultural elements, and any other self-replicating codes. Although social learning is the cultural analogue of genetic transmission, cultural evolution does not necessarily maximize genetic fitness. Newly emerging sociological theories of evolution hold promise of integrating micro- and macro- processes, providing explanations of complexity and diversity in social change, reconciling ideas of agency and structure, and linking sociology to biology without misleading reductionism.
Final Thoughts on the Link Between Sociology and Biology
With this exploration, it is therefore becoming more imperative call for sociologists and biologist on why more understanding and research should be done that incorporates biology and biological theory into sociology. Although disentangling the social and biological is difficult because of the complex interactions between them, the fact that the interactions exist is indisputable, and sociology can benefit from examining them.
Conclusively, it is a general knowledge that our ideas of what sort of progress is possible or desirable for man depend, part at least, upon our views of the biological nature and factors are part of the inquiries of the human life. Thus, the study of biology is necessary for a study of sociology. It is not possible to determine the modes and limits of man’s social progress without being acquainted with man’s physical capacities, qualities and limitation.
