Wolfgang Wickler

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Wolfgang Wickler (2009)

Wolfgang Wickler (born November 18, 1931 in Berlin ) is a German zoologist , behavioral scientist and publicist . He was appointed Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society in 1974 and, as director, headed the ethological department at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen near Starnberg . Even after his retirement (1999) he remained closely connected to the institute in Seewiesen and a. for its smooth transition to the then newly emerging Max Planck Institute for Ornithology .

Career

After graduating from high school (1951) he studied biology and then went on a scholarship to the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology, where Konrad Lorenz and Erich von Holst became his teachers. After completing a doctoral thesis on the behavior of bottom fish, he was a research assistant in Seewiesen from 1960 and finally completed his habilitation in 1969 at the University of Munich . There he was also appointed adjunct professor at the natural science faculty in 1976; as early as 1970 he had been awarded a teaching position at the Catholic theological faculty for the biological foundations of human moral concepts.

Wickler's specialty was the reconstruction of the tribal history of animal communities and the analysis of communication in animals. Among other things, he examined the “dialects” of birds, but as early as 1968 a book on mimicry was published until 2002 in the German-speaking world . The research areas of his department at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology also included studies on the social behavior of spiders and grasshoppers , on food acquisition, reproduction and pair formation in shrimps, as well as more philosophical publications on "biological argumentation" in connection with ethical questions (including 1971 Die Biology of the Ten Commandments ).

In 1981 the sociobiological book The Principle of Self- Interest, written by Wickler together with Uta Seibt, and in 1983 the book Male - Female (again written with Uta Seibt), received a lot of public attention . A law of nature and its consequences ; Both books focused on the evolution of behavior; The key question was formulated as follows: “What should the behavior of living beings be like if the theory of evolution is correct?” They were reproached for the fact that cultural influences on human behavior were not denied in their publications, but only marginally considered. It is extremely unusual that several of his books were made accessible again in new editions decades after their first publication.

In November 1997 the Senate of the Max Planck Society decided to close the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology with Wolfgang Wickler's retirement on November 30, 1999 . Since then ornithological research has been continued in a Max Planck Institute for Ornithology (Erling-Andechs, Radolfzell and Seewiesen).

Wolfgang Wickler was already one of the most aggressive critics of the instinct theory of his mentor Konrad Lorenz at the end of the 1980s .

Wolfgang Wickler has been married to Agnes Oehm since 1956, has four grown children and is also an organist .

Publications (selection)

  • Origin and biological interpretation of the genital presentation of male primates. In: Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. Volume 23, No. 4, 1966, pp. 422-437, doi: 10.1111 / j.1439-0310.1966.tb01605.x .
  • Mimicry. Imitation and deception in nature. Munich 1968.
  • Are we sinners? Natural laws of marriage. With an introduction by Konrad Lorenz. Munich 1969.
  • Behavioral Research Answers. Munich 1970.
  • Behavior and environment. Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1972.
  • with Uta Seibt (Ed.): Comparative behavior research. Hamburg 1973 (Reader).
  • Tribal history and ritualization. On the emergence of animal and human behavior patterns. Munich 1975.
  • The Biology of the Ten Commandments. Why nature is not a role model for us. Munich 1991 (new edition).
  • with Uta Seibt: The principle of self-interest. On the evolution of social behavior. Munich / Zurich 1991 (new edition).
  • with Uta Seibt: Male Female. A law of nature and its consequences. Heidelberg / Berlin 1998 (new edition).
  • with Uta Seibt: Calendar worm and Perlenpost. Biologists decipher unwritten messages. Heidelberg / Berlin 1998.
  • Science on Safari: Behavioral Research as a Profession and Hobby , Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-49957-3 , doi: 10.1007 / 978-3-662-49958-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The principle of self-interest , foreword
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Wickler: From ethology to sociobiology. In: Jost Herbig, Rainer Hohlfeld (ed.): The second creation. Munich 1990, p. 176
personal data
SURNAME Wickler, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German zoologist, behavioral scientist and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin