Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship

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have run for many years, but it is also an outstanding example of what can be achieved by immersing oneself in literature from different fields, while retaining an intellectual openness and exercising incisive analysis. Many of us talk enthusiastically about inter- and multi-disciplinarity, but often this is not much more than lip service. This book is a shining example of what can be achieved when excellent scholars engage fully across disciplinary boundaries. There should be more texts like this.

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Holland argues that a clear resolution to these questions is still outstanding, and would therefore be of value. In closing the introduction, Holland writes; "The approach is not reductive. The claim is rather that a thorough investigation of the 'biological facts' can be useful mainly though allowing a change in focus... away from confusion about the place of genealogy in social ties, and onto a reformulated baseline, built around varied

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and in the evolutionary time frame. This makes the book essential reading for anyone who acknowledges that human relatedness and social bonds are shaped by the evolved dispositions of our species, their development through the life-course of an individual, and our specific cultural-historical environments... Holland's book goes a long way toward clarifying and therefore advancing these theoretical debates

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claimed that the book "demonstrates that an alternative non-deterministic interpretation of evolutionary biology is more compatible with actual human social behavior and with the frameworks that sociocultural anthropology employs" and as a consequence, delivers "a convincing, solid and informed blow to the residual genetic determinism that still influences the interpretation of social behaviour."

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increasing the numbers of their genes in successive generations, the measure of their so-called 'individual inclusive fitness'. Holland demonstrates that an alternative non-deterministic interpretation of evolutionary biology is more compatible with actual human social behavior and with the frameworks that sociocultural anthropology employs.

1596:) - that organisms may evolve genes that are able to identify identical copies in others and preferentially direct social behaviours towards them - was theoretically clarified and withdrawn by Hamilton in 1987. However, in the intervening years, the notion that supergenes (or more often, simply individual organisms) have evolved 1622:) to apply inclusive fitness theory to human social behavior relied on, and further reinforced, this same misinterpretation (above section) about the theory's predictions and the proximate mechanisms of social behavior. Holland also shows that this period of research was burdened with many misplaced assumptions about 1749:

often be a maternal relative (particularly an older sibling), but the context is primary, not the actual relatedness. Similarly, social bonding and social behaviours between maternal siblings (and occasionally between other maternal relatives) is context-driven in primates, and mediated via the care-giver.

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Like other mammals, Catarrhini primate demographics are strongly influenced by ecological conditions, particularly density and distribution of food sources... Cohesive social groups and delayed natal dispersal mean that maternally related individuals, including maternal siblings, face a statistically

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to mediate social bonding and behavior, Holland suggests that "The further question then is; can we uncover in any greater detail how familiarity and other context-dependent cues operate?". To discover the extent to which the variety of human kinship behaviors may nevertheless be compatible with this

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As someone who teaches behavioural ecology to biologists, and primate biology to social and biological anthropologists, I will be strongly recommending this book to all of my advanced undergraduates, masters and PhD students, as well as to my colleagues. Not only does it help to resolve debates that

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Holland has done an excellent and thorough job in reviewing the disciplinary and interdisciplinary histories of approaches to kinship and social bonds in anthropology, biology, and psychology. Most importantly, he clarifies the different levels of analysis when looking at human behavior in real time

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interpretation of the theory and how such bonds and behaviors operate in social mammals, primates and in humans. In the final part of the book, Holland explores the extent to which this perspective is also compatible with sociocultural anthropology's ethnographic accounts of human kinship and social

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Adoption of infants by females (and sometimes males) demonstrates that care-giving and bonding to infants is not mediated by positive powers of discrimination. From the infant's perspective, it will bond with any responsive carer. If not necessarily the actual mother, in natural conditions this will

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took hold, and became the way many biologists came to understand the theory. This persisted, despite Hamilton's 1987 correction. In Holland's view it is the pervasiveness of this longstanding but erroneous perspective, and the suppression of the alternative 'behaviour-evoking-situations' perspective

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theory from the 1960s onwards, setting out its significant conceptual and heuristic value. Holland notes that Hamilton acknowledged that his earliest and most widely known account (1964) contained technical inaccuracies. He also notes Hamilton's early speculations about possible proximate mechanisms

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The aim of the book is to show that "properly interpreted, cultural anthropology approaches (and ethnographic data) and biological approaches are perfectly compatible regarding processes of social bonding in humans." Holland's position is based on demonstrating that the dominant biological theory of

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A brilliant discussion of the relationship between kinship and social bonding as understood in evolutionary biology and in sociocultural anthropology. Among other contributions, it debunks the common misconception that biological evolution involves individual organisms actively pursuing the goal of

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Max Holland has demonstrated extraordinarily thorough scholarship in his exhaustive review of the often contentious discussions of kinship. He has produced a balanced synthesis melding the two approaches exemplified in the biological and sociocultural behavioral positions. His work in reconciling

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Constructing from narrow cultural particulars (Euro-American or otherwise) an essentialised model of 'human nature' does not constitute science; it is closer to cultural colonialism. In any analysis intended to shed light on proposed universals of the human condition, reflexivity is essential, and

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school grew up in its place. Although this latter school typically avoided engaging with the ethnographic data on human kinship, Holland argues that in the few cases where it did so, it repeated the misinterpretation of inclusive fitness theory that characterized the first wave. Holland also notes

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have persisted in viewing human kinship and cooperative behavior as necessarily associated with genetic relationships and 'blood ties'. The current situation has been characterized as "a clash between incommensurate paradigms, holding as they may, completely incompatible ideas about human nature."

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towards understanding human social bonding and cooperative behavior. It presents a theoretical treatment that many consider to have resolved longstanding questions about the proper place of genetic (or 'blood') connections in human kinship and social relations, and a synthesis that "should inspire

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Beyond its central argument, the broader philosophical implications of Holland's work are considered by commentators to be that it both "helps to untangle a long-standing disciplinary muddle" and "clarifies the relationship between biological and sociocultural approaches to human kinship." It is

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do in fact overwhelmingly mediate social behaviours in those species studied, and that, particularly in mammal species, social bonding and familiarity formed in early developmental contexts (e.g. in burrows or nesting sites) are a common mediating mechanism for social behaviors, independently of

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theory. Holland notes that the name 'kin recognition' itself suggests some expectation that a positive identification of genetic relatedness is a prediction of inclusive fitness theory, and is thus expected. Similar points have been made by others; "many behavioural ecologists seem to implicitly

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This is, without a doubt, a very significant and important contribution to the on-going discussion about the determinants of sociality in humans as well as in other animals... A painstaking analysis of inclusive fitness, attachment theory and non-human primate social relationships, through a

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Max Holland has provided a wide-ranging and deeply-probing analysis of the influence of genetic relatedness and social context on human kinship. He argues that while genetic relatedness may play a role in the evolution of social behavior, it does not determine the forms of such behavior. His

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The book's form consists of a cumulative argument (using a wide range of supporting evidence) made over nine chapters, with each chapter ending in a brief retrospective summary, and the final chapter containing a recapitulation and summary of the whole, and drawing some wider conclusions.

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Many contemporary accounts focus on social bonds formed in childhood and the importance of the performance of acts of care, including food provision, in mediating these bonds. In all cases it is this performance of care which is considered the overriding factor in mediating social bonds,

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Do the biological facts have some priority or are they but one of the conditions, like ecology, economy, demography, etc., to which kinship systems must adapt? Take note: if the latter is the case, then kinship must be as much rooted in these other conditions as in the biological

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might be the more parsimonious mechanism of the expression of social behavior, and fully compatible with inclusive fitness theory, has often been underemphasized. However, Holland's review of the evidence notes that field studies in this area quickly established that

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evidence has led to a move away from the 'blood kinship' concept in recent decades, many sociocultural anthropologists still query the connection between kinship and blood, reproduction or some other apparently biological functions. Meanwhile, many biologists,

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Max Holland gets to the heart of the matter concerning the contentious relationship between kinship categories, genetic relatedness and the prediction of behavior. If he had been in the debate in the 1980s then a lot of subsequent confusion could have been

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work demonstrated that social attachments form on the basis of provision of care, and responsiveness to elicitations for care. The social context of living together and the familiarity this brings, provides the circumstance within which social bonds can

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This book is a scholarly attempt to get beyond the often sterile oppositions between evolutionary and culturalist approaches to kinship. In bringing together two sides of the debate, it constitutes a valuable contribution to kinship

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Hamilton, William D. 1987. Discriminating nepotism: expectable, common and overlooked. In Kin recognition in animals, edited by D. J. C. Fletcher and C. D. Michener. New York: Wiley. On page 420, Hamilton clearly states that

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The author supplies several examples of the insight that Schneider's broad approach can provide. The book closes with an example of a clash of cultural perspectives on kinship and family norms, and makes the suggestion that;

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fascinating journey which ends with an anthropological account of social bonds in different cultures... It is a landmark in the field of evolutionary biology, which places genetic determinism in the correct perspective.

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reliable context of interaction in all Catarrhini primates. This reliable context of interaction with maternally related individuals is extended amongst those species with female philopatry (especially Cercopithecinae).

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It is entirely erroneous, both in reference to theory and in reference to the evidence, to claim or suggest that 'the facts of biology' support the claim that organisms have evolved to cooperate with genetic relatives

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As with other social mammals, evidence suggest that the reliability of 'behaviour-evoking-situations' this social context provides has shaped the mechanisms of proximate expression of social bonding and behavior;

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of the researchers themselves. Holland also shows that, following the perceived failures of this early wave, and particularly its methodological agnosticism regarding proximate mechanisms of social behavior, the

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notwithstanding 'blood ties'. In short, there is strong compatibility between the perspectives on social bonding that emerge from a proper account of biological theory and those documented by ethnographers.

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The argument here and there becomes too detailed and tortuous, but it is absolutely captivating... who are less used to extremely detailed theoretical reasoning, will find it difficult at the beginning...

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Maximilian Holland 2012, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston. Pages 283-284

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Maximilian Holland 2012, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston. Page 161.

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Maximilian Holland 2012, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston. Chapter 9

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Maximilian Holland 2012, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston. Page 292

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Maximilian Holland 2012, Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, North Charleston. Page 29.

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Hamilton, William D. 1987. Discriminating nepotism: expectable, common and overlooked. In Kin recognition in animals, edited by D. J. C. Fletcher and C. D. Michener. New York: Wiley.

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which may mediate social bonding we that provision of food is likely to play a part, as well as the more intangible provision of warmth and comfort, and a safe base for sleeping."

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Tang-Martinez, Z. 2001. The mechanisms of kin discrimination and the evolution of kin recognition in vertebrates: a critical re-evaluation. Behavioural Processes 53:21-40. Page 21)

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An excellent and constructive discussion of matters in kinship and its cultural and biological components, handsomely reconciling what have been held to be incompatible positions.

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behavior, both occasional accounts from the past, as well as more contemporary accounts that have explicitly eschewed the earlier 'blood ties' assumption. Holland finds that;

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On the basis of combining more recent primate research with the findings of attachment theory, Holland proposes that "In attempting to define more specific forms of

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in respect of genetic relatedness vis-a-vis the formation of social bonds and expression of social behaviors, evidence does point to compatibility between a

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erroneous. Such claims and their supporting arguments also give a highly misleading and reductive account of basic biological theory. Properly interpreted,

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regarding social expression mechanisms, that is largely responsible for the ongoing clash between biological and sociocultural approaches to human kinship.

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Lucid and effective... Holland has produced a significant work of scholarship that will be of interest to a wide swath of the anthropological community.

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discussion is exemplary for its thoroughness, and should inspire more nuanced ventures in applying Darwinian approaches to sociocultural anthropology.

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Semple, Stuart (2016). "Review of: Holland, M (2012) Social bonding and nurture kinship: compatibility between cultural and biological approaches".

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regarding processes of social bonding in humans. Most of all, this requires a focus on the circumstances and processes which lead to social bonding.

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assume that specialised mechanisms allowing individuals to distinguish their kin from non-kin must have evolved." Again, the possibility that

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most fundamental social patterns may give clues, especially those of species most closely connected with humans. The variety of primate

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of social behaviors. Whilst rigorous evolutionary biologists have long understood the distinction between these levels of analysis (see

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opposing views clearly demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary approaches. This should be the definitive word on the subject.

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the expression of the kinds of social behaviours treated by inclusive fitness theory does not require genetic relatedness.

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was strongly informed by primate bonding patterns and mechanisms, and that in Bowlby's later writing the then emerging

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Hamilton, William D. 1964. The Genetical Evolution of Social Behaviour. Journal of Theoretical Biology 7:1-52. 1964

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Schneider, David M. 1984. A critique of the study of kinship. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Page 139

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cultural anthropology approaches (and ethnographic data) and biological approaches are perfectly compatible

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Janet Carsten, kinship theorist and professor of anthropology at the university of Edinburgh stated that:

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of social behaviors, whereas in fact the theory only implicates genetic associations as necessary for the

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of social behavior; specifically the question of whether social behaviors are expressed by organisms via

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Holland begins by tracing transitions in the history of anthropological theories of social behavior and

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and social behavior by Maximilian Holland, published in 2012. The work synthesizes the perspectives of

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Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology's claims that biological science predicts that organisms

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Kitcher, Philip. 1985. Vaulting Ambition: Sociobiology and the Quest for Human Nature. MIT Press.

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or via direct detection of actual genetic relatedness. Related questions have been the domain of

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Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches

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Social Bonding and Nurture Kinship: Compatibility between Cultural and Biological Approaches

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more nuanced ventures in applying Darwinian approaches to sociocultural anthropology".

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Having argued for the above position on the lack of necessity for genetic relatedness

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theory) is typically misunderstood to predict that genetic ties are necessary for the

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https://maximilianholland.com/2013/04/25/social-bonding-and-nurture-kinship-synopsis

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This synopsis is based mainly on the book's chapter summaries and concluding chapter

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http://www.berghahnjournals.com/abstract/journals/social-analysis/60/3/sa600308.xml

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Chapters four and five investigate further the theory and evidence surrounding the

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