E. O. Wilson
Also known as Edward O. Wilson, Edward Osborne Wilson
American biologist and ant expert (1929 to 2021) who founded sociobiology.
At a glance
Main ideas
Sociobiology, Species equilibrium, Group selection …
See all 5Criticism
The sociobiology debate, Mary Midgley, J. Philippe Rushton
See all 3Books to start with
The Insect Societies, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, On Human Nature …
See all 5Connections
Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins and On Human Nature
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Wilson was a Harvard biologist, the world's leading authority on ants, who developed the field of sociobiology.
- Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975) applied the evolution of social behaviour to animals and, in its last chapter, to humans, setting off a fierce debate.
- He won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for On Human Nature and The Ants.
- He was also a leading advocate for biodiversity and conservation.
Why it matters
- He reshaped how biologists think about social behaviour and made biodiversity a public cause; his work on human nature remains contested.
Key facts
- Born
- 10 Jun 1929, Birmingham, Alabama1
- Died
- 26 Dec 2021, Burlington, Massachusetts, aged 921
- Education
- University of Alabama, BS (1949) and MS in biology (1950); PhD, Harvard (1955)1
- Harvard
- Faculty from 1956 to 1996; curator of entomology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology from 1973; then Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus1
- Pulitzer Prizes
- On Human Nature (1979) and The Ants (with Bert Hölldobler)1
- Honours
- National Medal of Science (1977); Crafoord Prize1
Main ideas
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Sociobiology1
Social behaviour in insects, other animals and humans is shaped by evolution.
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Species equilibrium1
With Robert MacArthur, a theory of how species numbers balance on islands.
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Group selection1
He came to argue that eusocial behaviour was explained by group selection, not kin selection.
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Consilience1
The natural and social sciences should be unified.
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Mass extinction1
He saw mass extinction as the greatest threat to Earth's future.
Criticism
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The sociobiology debate1
The Sociobiology Study Group, with Richard Lewontin and Stephen Jay Gould, accused his human sociobiology of genetic determinism.
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Mary Midgley1
Criticised conceptual confusion and scientism in Sociobiology.
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J. Philippe Rushton1
Letters published after his death showed he had defended Rushton's race research; his foundation rejected this in 2022.
Books to start with
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The Insect Societies1
Insects and other animals face similar evolutionary pressures.
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Sociobiology: The New Synthesis1
The founding text of sociobiology.
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Sociobiology applied to human society.
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The Ants1
With Bert Hölldobler; a Pulitzer Prize.
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Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge1
Uniting the natural and social sciences.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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