1929-

American Biologist

Edward O. Wilson is a specialist in ant biology at Harvard University. He first gained renown among biologists for his discovery of ants' ability to communicate using chemicals called pheromones. He gained even greater fame as one of the key figures in the founding of sociobiology (also known today as evolutionary psychology). His book, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (1975) stirred up considerable controversy. Wilson's sociobiology is the attempt to explain animal societies—including humans—as the product of evolutionary development.

As a boy growing up in the southeastern United States, Wilson was enthralled with nature and began collecting insects and carefully observing animals in their habitat. By high school he had decided to pursue the vocation of biology and had even settled on a specialization—ants. He attended the University of Alabama in the late 1940s, where he enthusiastically embraced the neo-Darwinian...