Edward O. Wilson was born in
Birmingham,
Alabama in
1929. Later he moved to the
Mobile Bay Delta area where his attention turned to
snakes. He eventually received a
BS and
MS from
The University of Alabama and then his
PhD from
Harvard - all in
biology.
More than just a
biologist, E(ward) O. Wilson is the
founder of
sociobiology, a
synthesis of standard
biological principles with the
inclusion of
sociological concepts,
implying that the
science of
biology would then try to take things from the more rudimentary level to try and explain
human nature.
In general E.O.'s scientific
career has been, when not focued on
insects and other
creepy crawlies, geared toward the
unity of
knowledge. To this end is his
Pulitzer-prize winning book,
Consilience (©1998; ISBN:0-679-76867-x). The book does a good job of showing how the
sciences weave into and out of the
humanities and
social sciences from the
prospective of a
scientist. However, as a memeber of both the
scientific and
humanistic camps,
I often find the
conversation lop-sided and somewhat heavy-handed. The
fact is though that E.O. is a scientist and firmly believes in the
power of science to do all. This is for the
reader to consider.
Other books by E.O. Wilson are:
* Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
* Naturalist
* The Diversity of Life
* The Ants
* Biophilia
* On Human Nature
* Sociobiology: The New Synthesis
* The Insect Societies