Abstract

This paper discusses how evolutionary biology can contribute to sociological theory. I maintain that a biological understanding of human being can function as a common language among various competing trends in sociological theory. Sociologists do not use biological insights much, but one of the reasons for this is that simply they are not sure how such insights relate to their own research interests. My main purpose in this paper is to give an example of an enhancement of social theory (a conflict analysis of stratification) from an evolutionary point of view, hoping to remedy the 'biophobic' attitude of some sociological theorists.