Quoting luke
>>
>> So do most apes--thus I draw the inference that social hiearchies are almost
>> certainly manifestations of particular genetic traits.
>>
>> -- Luke
>>
>
Miles Replied
>
> Sorry, I gotta put up an empirical roadblock here. First, the
> degree of social stratification and hierarchy varies dramatically
> in human societies, ranging from minimal in hunting and gathering
> societies to severe in agrarian societies (ancient Egypt). You're
> confusing the social structure you're used to with what humans
> are capable of creating.
>
> Second, the prevalence of social hierarchies among primates
> vary dramatically across species and environmental conditions.
> Just as with humans, the key to survival in many primate groups
> is cooperation, not domination and control of others.
>
> Given the plasticity of social arrangements in many primates,
> including us, I think it's a little silly to make strong
> statements about the genetic basis of any individual or
> social characteristics. At best, genetics could predispose
> individuals to certain behaviors, but social hierarchies
> can only exist if there are social mechanisms for
> establishing and maintaining power. Thus if genetic
> research discovers the gene cluster for "domination"--
> which I doubt--we still can't understand social hierarchies
> without analyzing the social scaffolding that makes it
> possible for a person to act on their genetic dispositions.
>
> Miles
To reinforce Miles point - even when we know traits are largely genetic, it is hard to distinguish them from learned behavior. My favorite example of this is from small American circuses - sword swallowers and tight-rope walkers.
The gag reflex is one of the few mechanism we can be certain are pure genetic. If something touches the wrong part of the inside of your throat, you tend to gag. Yes sword swallowers manage to overcome this. One behavior we know has no genetic components is fear of heights. Anecdotally, unguarded infants will crawl off cliffs or balconies; small children will leap off roofs, persuade by companions or playing superhero. Experiments have been done with floors containing large transparent components, and infants observed crawling off the opaque part onto the transparent component. Fear of falling is taught, both by the environment, and presumably to some extent by parents.
Yet sword swallowers, who have to overcome a genetically programmed reflex, learn their art more easily than tightrope walkers who merely have to overcome a learned response.