This study of semigroups discusses groups, ideals, relations on semigroups, and relation classes in semigroups. Each topic is covered in some detail; but since this is a general study of semigroups, no topic dominates the paper. The definitions, theorems, and corollaries are supplied by Dr. August Lau, and all proofs are the work of Ms. Bryant.

The implications of sociobiology as presented in Wilson's Sociobiology: The New Synthesis are examined to determine to what extent 1) sociobiology can subsume sociology; 2) sociobiology is antithetical to sociology; 3) sociobiology reflects a movement within sociology. Basic assumptions of sociobiology pertinent to sociology--degree of determinism, existence of human universals, and definitions of society, culture, and human nature--are scrutinized alongside Wilson's view of sociology as a scientific discipline. The thesis explores weaknesses of both sociology and sociobiology and concludes that sociobiology, in ignoring culture as a source of behavioral motivation, is limited in reducing the sociological perspective to a biological one. Although the two disciplines have antithetical foundations, sociology has already begun to incorporate selected aspects of the sociobiological perspective.