APPLICATION OF BIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES TO HUMAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS: AN INTRODUCTION1

IN THIS SERIES OF FOUR PAPERS, THE AUTHORS EXAMINE TWO MAJOR PROPOSI-IONS CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL TIONS CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE AND POLITICALFIRST IS THAT SINCE BIOLOGISTS HAVE A SCIENCE. THE FIRST IS THAT SINCE BIOLOGISTS HAVE A WELL-ESTABLISHED SET OF TECHNIQUES FOR STUDYING THE FUNCTION OF LIVING STEMS, THESE SHOULD BE APPLICABLE TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS AS SPECIAL FORMS OF LIVING SYSTEMS. THE SECOND IS THAT THE CONCEPTS DEVELOPED FROM THE STUDY OF LIVING SYSTEMS SHOULD ALSO BE APPLICABLE TO POLITICAL SYSTEMS. IN THIS INTRODUCTORY PAPER, I FIRST LIST SOME OF THE BASIC CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED BY THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, INDICATE HOW THESE MIGHT BE USED TO FURTHER OUR KNOWLEDGE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, AND FINALLY CONCLUDE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT BASIC CONCEPT COMMON TO BOTH SCIENCES IS THAT OF POWER. IN THE SECOND PAPER, BANKS DESCRIBES HOW POWER IS EXPRESSED IN A FLOCK LIENS, LEADING TO THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL DOMINANCE. HE CONCLUDES THAT THIS PFENOMENON, CLOSELY RELATED TO THE HUMAN PHENOMENON OF SOCIAL STATUS, IS STRONGLY AFFECTED BY INDIVIDUAL VARIATION, ANOTHER BIOLOGICAL CONCEPT THAT MUST BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN EXPLAINING HUMAN BEHAVIOR. VESSEY DESCRIBES THE SAME PHENOMENON IN THE MORE COMPLEXLY ORGANIZED SOCIETIES OF RHESUS MONKEYS. PHYSICAL SIZE AND FIGHTING ABILITY APPEAR TO BE LESS IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF RANK AMONG MALES THAN ARE SENIORITY AND THE STATUS OF THE MOTHERS, BUT RAPY: 1984