Abstract
Recently, several behavioral sciences became increasingly interested in investigating biological and evolutionary foundations of (human) social behavior. In this light, prosocial behavior is seen as a core element of human nature. A central role within this perspective plays the “social brain” that is not only able to communicate with the environment but rather to interact directly with other brains via neuronal mind reading capacities such as empathy. From the perspective of a sociologist, this paper investigates what “social” means in contemporary behavioral and particularly brain sciences. It will be discussed what “social” means in the light of social neuroscience and a glance into the history of social psychology and the brain sciences will show that two thought traditions come together in social neuroscience, combining an individualistic and an evolutionary notion of the “social.” The paper concludes by situating current research on prosocial behavior in broader social discourses about sociality and society, suggesting that to naturalize prosocial aspects in human life is a current trend in today's behavioral sciences and beyond.
Highlights
Several behavioral sciences, for instance neuroeconomics (e.g., Fehr and Fischbacher, 2003), primatology (e.g., De Waal, 2009) and social neuroscience (e.g., Frith and Frith, 2010), became increasingly interested in investigating biological and evolutionary foundations of social behavior
A central concept of this new perspective on human nature is the “social brain” (Brothers, 1990) that is able to communicate with the environment but rather to interact directly with other brains via neuronal mind reading capacities such as empathy
Taking social neuroscience as an example, this paper explores the notion of “social” in contemporary behavioral sciences and how a new concept of human nature emerges
Summary
Reviewed by: Anelis Kaiser, University of Freiburg, Germany Gregory Hollin, University of Nottingham, UK Rebekka Klein, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. Several behavioral sciences became increasingly interested in investigating biological and evolutionary foundations of (human) social behavior In this light, prosocial behavior is seen as a core element of human nature. From the perspective of a sociologist, this paper investigates what “social” means in contemporary behavioral and brain sciences It will be discussed what “social” means in the light of social neuroscience and a glance into the history of social psychology and the brain sciences will show that two thought traditions come together in social neuroscience, combining an individualistic and an evolutionary notion of the “social.” The paper concludes by situating current research on prosocial behavior in broader social discourses about sociality and society, suggesting that to naturalize prosocial aspects in human life is a current trend in today’s behavioral sciences and beyond
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