Book Reviewed: Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies by Edward O. Wilson

The dawn of human nature The emergence of human social organization in the evolutionary biology appears to be a unique phenomenon. Societies existed among numerous species and humans, but the capability of communication with spoken language is unique to Homo Sapiens. The author observes that in each individual, altruism (the belief and practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others) was needed at a lower level of biological organization to re go one step ahead in generations. He refers to a group selection in which evolution acts on a whole group rather than on individuals, and in particular the concept of eusociality, which he calls that the highest level of organization of sociality that is characterized by cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generations within a colony of adults, and a division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups. The division of labor creates specialized behavioral groups within an animal society which are referred to as 'castes'. Eusociality is distinguished from all other social systems because individuals of at least one caste usually lose the ability to perform at least one behavior characteristic of individuals in another caste. The author provides examples like grandmother helpers, gay people, and monastics, he suggests that human society owes a debt of gratitude to “postmenopausal grandmothers” and “childless homosexuals” for societal organization or eusociality. His theory is purely speculative that suggest a single gene is responsible for altruism, and advanced social behavior is due to complexity of the human gene networks. The author provides little biological basis for his speculation.