E. O. Wilson

E. O. Wilson
ForMemRS
E. O. Wilson ForMemRS
	Wilson in 2007
Born	Edward Osborne Wilson; June 10, 1929; Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Died	December 26, 2021 (aged 92); Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	University of Alabama (BS, MS); Harvard University (PhD);
Known for	Sociobiology; Island biogeography; Epic of evolution; Character displacement; Biophilia hypothesis; Taxon cycle;
Spouse	Irene Kelley (m. 1955)
Awards	Newcomb Cleveland Prize (1967); National Medal of Science (1977); Leidy Award (1979); Pulitzer Prize (1979); Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (1984); Crafoord Prize (1990); Pulitzer Prize (1991); International Prize for Biology (1993); Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science (1994); Kistler Prize (2000); King Faisal Prize (2000); Global Environmental Citizen Award (2001); Nierenberg Prize (2001); BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology (2010); International Cosmos Prize (2012); Kew International Medal (2014); ;
	Scientific career
Fields	Entomology Myrmecology; ;
Institutions	Harvard University Museum of Natural History; ;
Thesis	A Monographic Revision of the Ant Genus Lasius (1955)
Doctoral advisor	Frank M. Carpenter
Doctoral students	Margaret A. Dix (1968); Daniel Simberloff (1969); Donald J. Farish (1970); James D. Weinrich (1976); Mark W. Moffett (1987);

Edward Osborne Wilson ForMemRS (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, ecologist, and entomologist known for developing the field of sociobiology.

Born in Alabama, Wilson found an early interest in nature and frequented the outdoors. At age seven, he was partially blinded in a fishing accident; due to his reduced sight, Wilson resolved to study entomology. After graduating from the University of Alabama, Wilson transferred to complete his dissertation at Harvard University, where he distinguished himself in multiple fields. In 1956, he co-authored a paper defining the theory of character displacement. In 1967, he developed the theory of island biogeography with Robert MacArthur.

Wilson was the Pellegrino University Research Professor Emeritus in Entomology for the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, a lecturer at Duke University,^[2] and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. The Royal Swedish Academy awarded Wilson the Crafoord Prize. He was a humanist laureate of the International Academy of Humanism.^[3]^[4] He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (for On Human Nature in 1979, and The Ants in 1991) and a New York Times bestselling author for The Social Conquest of Earth,^[5] Letters to a Young Scientist,^[5]^[6] and The Meaning of Human Existence.

Wilson's work received both praise and criticism during his lifetime. His 1975 book Sociobiology: The New Synthesis was a particular flashpoint for controversy, and drew criticism from the Sociobiology Study Group.^[7]^[8] Wilson's interpretation of the theory of evolution resulted in a widely reported dispute with Richard Dawkins about multilevel selection theory.^[9] Examinations of his letters after his death revealed that he had supported the psychologist J. Philippe Rushton, whose work on race and intelligence is widely regarded by the scientific community as deeply flawed and racist.^[10]^[11]

^ "Ethiopia's Prof. Sebsebe Demissew awarded prestigious Kew International Medal – Kew". kew.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
^ "E.O. Wilson advocates biodiversity preservation". Duke Chronicle. February 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
^ "Natural Connections > Edward Wilson Bio". Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
^ "E. O. Wilson biography". AlabamaLiteraryMap.org. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
^ ^a ^b Cowles, Gregory. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times.
^ Hoffman, Jascha (March 25, 2013). "Advice to Researchers and Reanimating Dead Mice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^ Segerstråle, Ullica (March 1, 1986). "Colleagues in conflict: An 'in vivo' analysis of the sociobiology controversy". Biology and Philosophy. 1 (1): 53–87. doi:10.1007/BF00127089. ISSN 1572-8404. S2CID 170270819. In October 1975, a group called the Sociobiology Study Group,' composed of professors, students, researchers and others from the Boston area launched an attack on Wilson's Sociobiology, which by then had received widespread publicity and positive reviews.
^ Perry, George; Mace, Ruth (June 1, 2010). "The lack of acceptance of evolutionary approaches to human behaviour". Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 8 (2): 105–125. doi:10.1556/jep.8.2010.2.2. ISSN 1789-2082. Sociobiology was initially well received by most biologists, who appreciated the detailed empirical and theoretical work on animal social behaviour... However, a huge controversy throughout the 1970s and 80s, known as the sociobiology debate, soon followed.
^ Thorpe, Vanessa (June 23, 2012). "Richard Dawkins in furious row with EO Wilson over theory of evolution". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
^
- For information about Wilson's support of Rushton, see Farina, Stacy; Gibbons, Matthew (February 1, 2022). ""The Last Refuge of Scoundrels": New Evidence of E. O. Wilson's Intimacy with Scientific Racism". Science for the People. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- Schulson, Michael (February 16, 2022). "New Evidence Revives Old Questions About E.O. Wilson and Race". Undark Magazine. Knight Science Journalism. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- "E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation » A Statement on E.O. Wilson and the Rushton Correspondence". April 18, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
^
- For information about Rushton's racism and promotion of pseudoscience, see Graves, J. L. (2002). "What a tangled web he weaves: Race, reproductive strategies and Rushton's life history theory". Anthropological Theory. 2 (2): 131–154. doi:10.1177/1469962002002002627. ISSN 1463-4996. S2CID 144377864.
- Brace, C. Loring (March 1996). "Review: Racialism and Racist Agendas". American Anthropologist. New Series. 98 (1): 176–7. doi:10.1525/aa.1996.98.1.02a00250. JSTOR 682972.
- Francisco Gil-White, Resurrecting Racism, Chapter 10 Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Anderson, Judith L. (1991). "Rushton's racial comparisons: An ecological critique of theory and method". Canadian Psychology. 32 (1): 51–62. doi:10.1037/h0078956. ISSN 1878-7304. S2CID 54854642.
- Douglas Wahlsten (2001) Book Review of Race, Evolution and Behavior
- Leslie, Charles (2002). New Horizons in Medical Anthropology. New York: Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-415-27793-8.
- Kuznar, Lawrence (1997). Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7619-9114-4.

[seb-1] "Ethiopia's Prof. Sebsebe Demissew awarded prestigious Kew International Medal – Kew". kew.org. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.

[2] "E.O. Wilson advocates biodiversity preservation". Duke Chronicle. February 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2014.

[3] "Natural Connections > Edward Wilson Bio". Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2015.

[4] "E. O. Wilson biography". AlabamaLiteraryMap.org. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2014.

[CowlesG-5] Cowles, Gregory. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times.

[6] Hoffman, Jascha (March 25, 2013). "Advice to Researchers and Reanimating Dead Mice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2020.

[Segerstråle-1986-7] Segerstråle, Ullica (March 1, 1986). "Colleagues in conflict: An 'in vivo' analysis of the sociobiology controversy". Biology and Philosophy. 1 (1): 53–87. doi:10.1007/BF00127089. ISSN 1572-8404. S2CID 170270819. In October 1975, a group called the Sociobiology Study Group,' composed of professors, students, researchers and others from the Boston area launched an attack on Wilson's Sociobiology, which by then had received widespread publicity and positive reviews.

[Perry-2010-8] Perry, George; Mace, Ruth (June 1, 2010). "The lack of acceptance of evolutionary approaches to human behaviour". Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 8 (2): 105–125. doi:10.1556/jep.8.2010.2.2. ISSN 1789-2082. Sociobiology was initially well received by most biologists, who appreciated the detailed empirical and theoretical work on animal social behaviour... However, a huge controversy throughout the 1970s and 80s, known as the sociobiology debate, soon followed.

[Thorpe-2012-9] Thorpe, Vanessa (June 23, 2012). "Richard Dawkins in furious row with EO Wilson over theory of evolution". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved April 13, 2023.

[10] 
For information about Wilson's support of Rushton, see Farina, Stacy; Gibbons, Matthew (February 1, 2022). ""The Last Refuge of Scoundrels": New Evidence of E. O. Wilson's Intimacy with Scientific Racism". Science for the People. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
Schulson, Michael (February 16, 2022). "New Evidence Revives Old Questions About E.O. Wilson and Race". Undark Magazine. Knight Science Journalism. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
"E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation » A Statement on E.O. Wilson and the Rushton Correspondence". April 18, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[11] For information about Wilson's support of Rushton, see Farina, Stacy; Gibbons, Matthew (February 1, 2022). ""The Last Refuge of Scoundrels": New Evidence of E. O. Wilson's Intimacy with Scientific Racism". Science for the People. Retrieved February 8, 2022.

[12] Schulson, Michael (February 16, 2022). "New Evidence Revives Old Questions About E.O. Wilson and Race". Undark Magazine. Knight Science Journalism. Retrieved November 10, 2024.

[13] "E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation » A Statement on E.O. Wilson and the Rushton Correspondence". April 18, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2023.

[11] 
For information about Rushton's racism and promotion of pseudoscience, see Graves, J. L. (2002). "What a tangled web he weaves: Race, reproductive strategies and Rushton's life history theory". Anthropological Theory. 2 (2): 131–154. doi:10.1177/1469962002002002627. ISSN 1463-4996. S2CID 144377864.
Brace, C. Loring (March 1996). "Review: Racialism and Racist Agendas". American Anthropologist. New Series. 98 (1): 176–7. doi:10.1525/aa.1996.98.1.02a00250. JSTOR 682972.
Francisco Gil-White, Resurrecting Racism, Chapter 10 Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
Anderson, Judith L. (1991). "Rushton's racial comparisons: An ecological critique of theory and method". Canadian Psychology. 32 (1): 51–62. doi:10.1037/h0078956. ISSN 1878-7304. S2CID 54854642.
Douglas Wahlsten (2001) Book Review of Race, Evolution and Behavior
Leslie, Charles (2002). New Horizons in Medical Anthropology. New York: Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-415-27793-8.
Kuznar, Lawrence (1997). Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7619-9114-4.

[15] For information about Rushton's racism and promotion of pseudoscience, see Graves, J. L. (2002). "What a tangled web he weaves: Race, reproductive strategies and Rushton's life history theory". Anthropological Theory. 2 (2): 131–154. doi:10.1177/1469962002002002627. ISSN 1463-4996. S2CID 144377864.

[16] Brace, C. Loring (March 1996). "Review: Racialism and Racist Agendas". American Anthropologist. New Series. 98 (1): 176–7. doi:10.1525/aa.1996.98.1.02a00250. JSTOR 682972.

[17] Francisco Gil-White, Resurrecting Racism, Chapter 10 Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine

[18] Anderson, Judith L. (1991). "Rushton's racial comparisons: An ecological critique of theory and method". Canadian Psychology. 32 (1): 51–62. doi:10.1037/h0078956. ISSN 1878-7304. S2CID 54854642.

[19] Douglas Wahlsten (2001) Book Review of Race, Evolution and Behavior

[20] Leslie, Charles (2002). New Horizons in Medical Anthropology. New York: Routledge. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-415-27793-8.

[21] Kuznar, Lawrence (1997). Reclaiming a Scientific Anthropology. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7619-9114-4.

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