E. O. Wilson

**Edward Osborne Wilson** (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist and author. He was an entomologist who studied ants, but to the public he is known for sociobiology, biodiversity and  conservation.

Wilson's writing has been very influential. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction. He was known for his role as "the father of sociobiology", his environmentalism, and his secular humanist and deist ideas on religion and ethics.

He worked at Harvard University, and was a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. He was a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. He was awarded the National Medal of Science (1977), and the Crafoord Prize (1990), which recognizes research in scientific fields not eligible for the Nobel Prize.

## Career

Wilson's work (and books) fell into at least four categories:
1. Ants. He was the twentieth century's leading expert on these insects.
1. Sociobiology. He created the term and wrote the book. He applies evolution and genetics  to the study of human nature. This part of his work has been highly controversial. The term is not as often used as it was before. The idea of evolutionary psychology is becoming more popular.
1. Biodiversity and conservation. This part of his work is agreed by many other experts.
1. Unity of knowledge. He argues that all knowledge – including humanities and social sciences – should be a kind of unified science. This is a philosophical view which has been put forward several times before.<sup>p228</sup>

## Death

Wilson died on December 26, 2021 in Burlington, Massachusetts at the age of 92.

## Books

- 1967. _The theory of island biogeography_, with Robert MacArthur. Princeton University Press. 2001 reprint:
- 1971. _The insect societies_. Harvard University Press.
- 1975. _Sociobiology: the new synthesis_. Harvard University Press. 25th anniversary edition, 2000:
- 1979. _On human nature_. Harvard University Press.
- 1981. _Genes, mind and culture: the coevolutionary process_. Harvard University Press.
- 1983. _Promethean fire: reflections on the origin of mind_. Harvard University Press.
- 1984. _Biophilia_, Harvard University Press.
- 1990. Success and dominance in ecosystems: the case of the social insects. Inter-Research. ISSN 0932-2205
- 1990. _The Ants_, with Bert Hölldobler. Harvard University Press. , Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
- 1992. _The diversity of life_ Harvard University Press. ; _The diversity of life: special edition_.
- 1993. _The biophilia hypothesis_, with Stephen R. Kellert. Shearwater Books.
- 1994. _Journey to the ants: a story of scientific exploration_, with Bert Hölldobler. Harvard University Press. ,
- 1994. _Naturalist_. Shearwater Books.
- 1996. _In search of nature_, with Laura Simonds Southworth. Shearwater Books.
- 1998. _Consilience: the unity of knowledge_. Knopf.
- 2002. _The future of life_, Knopf.
- 2003. _Pheidole in the New World: a dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus_. Harvard University Press.
- 2005. _From so simple a beginning: Darwin's four great books_. W.W. Norton, New York. Edited, with introductions by Edward O. Wilson.
- 2006. _The creation: an appeal to save life on Earth_. W.W. Norton, New York.
- 2006. _Nature revealed: selected writings 1949-2006_.
- 2009. _The Superorganism: the beauty, elegance, and strangeness of insect societies_, with Bert Hölldobler. W.W. Norton, New York.
- 2010. _Anthill: a novel_. W.W. Norton, New York.
- 2010. _Kingdom of Ants: Jose Celestino Mutis and the dawn of natural history in the New World_, with José María Gómez Durán. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- 2011. _The Leafcutter Ants: civilization by instinct_, with Bert Hölldobler. W.W. Norton, New York.
- 2012. _The Social Conquest of Earth_. Liveright, New York.
- 2014. _Letters to a Young Scientist_. Liveright.
- 2014. _A Window on Eternity: A Biologist's Walk Through Gorongosa National Park_. Simon & Schuster.
- 2014. _The Meaning of Human Existence_. Liveright.
- 2016. _Half-Earth_. Liveright.
- 2017. _The Origins of Creativity_. Liveright.

## Related pages

- Daniel Clarence Quinn

## Infobox (scientist)

- **name**: E. O. Wilson
- **image**: Plos wilson.jpg
- **caption**: Wilson in 2003
- **birth name**: Edward Osborne Wilson
- **birth place**: Birmingham, Alabama, United States, U.S.
- **death place**: Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
- **nationality**: United States, American
- **fields**: Biologist
- **workplaces**: Harvard University
- **alma mater**: University of Alabama
Harvard University
- **known for**: biodiversity, sociobiology, evolution, ants
- **awards**: Pulitzer Prize (1979)
Crafoord Prize (1990)
Pulitzer Prize (1991)

Kistler Prize (2000)
 Nierenberg Prize (2001)