Wilson's interpretation of the theory of evolution resulted in a widely-reported dispute with Richard Dawkins. His book Sociobiology was a particular flashpoint for controversy, and drew criticism from the Sociobiology Study Group. Wilson's work received both praise and criticism during his lifetime. 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, Letters to a Young Scientist, and The Meaning of Human Existence. He was a humanist laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. The Royal Swedish Academy awarded Wilson the Crafoord Prize. 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, and a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 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 in Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. After matriculating at the University of Alabama, Wilson transferred to complete his dissertation at Harvard University, where he distinguished himself in multiple fields. At age seven, he was partially blinded in a fishing accident due to his reduced sight, Wilson resolved to study entomology.

Edward Osborne Wilson FRS (J– December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, ecologist, and entomologist known for developing the field of sociobiology.īorn in Alabama, Wilson found an early interest with nature and frequented the outdoors.

Animal Instinct by Stephen Osborne