It Felt More like a Revolution. How Behavioral Ecology Succeeded Ethology, 1970-1990

Stuhrmann, Cora (2022): It Felt More like a Revolution. How Behavioral Ecology Succeeded Ethology, 1970-1990. In: Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Vol. 45, No. 1-2: pp. 135-163

Abstract

As soon as ethology's status diminished in the early 1970s, it was confronted with two successor disciplines, sociobiology and behavioral ecology. They were able to challenge ethology because it no longer provided markers of strong disciplinarity such as theoretical coherence, leading figures and a clear identity. While behavioral ecology developed organically out of the UK ethological research community into its own disciplinary standing, sociobiology presented itself as a US competitor to the ethological tradition. I will show how behavioral ecology took the role of legitimate heir to ethology by rebuilding a theoretical core and an intellectual sense of community, while sociobiology failed to use its public appeal to reach disciplinary status. Meanwhile, ethology changed its disciplinary identity to encompass all biological studies of animal behavior.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: History and Art History > Department of History
• Subjects: 900 History and geography > 900 Geschichte
• ISSN: 0170-6233
• Language: English
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 491502892
• DFG: Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 316166947