On Human Nature
First Edition
Edward O. Wilson
A work of high intellectual daring...Here is an accomplished biologist explaining, in notably clear and unprevaricating language, what he thinks his subject now has to offer to the understanding of man and society...The implications of Wilson's thesis are rather considerable, for if true, no system of political, social, religious or ethical thought can afford to ignore it...Clarity, precision and boldness distinguish Wilson's attempt to complete the Darwinian revolution.
--Nicholas Wade, New Republic
Wilson is a sophisticated and marvelously humane writer. His vision is a liberating one, and a reader of this splendid book comes away with a sense of the kinship that exists among the people, animals, and insects that share the planet.
--New Yorker
Entertaining and stimulating.
--John Maynard Smith, Nature
Compellingly interesting and enormously important...The most stimulating, the most provocative, and the most illuminating work of nonfiction I have read in some time.
--William McPherson, Washington Post Book World
With his customary clarity, Wilson presents his thoughts on charting human destiny, which he would prefer to see done through 'precise steering based on biological knowledge.' One of his central arguments is that virtually every aspect of human behavior is powerfully affected by biological factors that have a discoverable genetic basis. He analyzes four varieties of human behavior: aggression, sex, altruism, and religion.
--Chronicle of Higher Education
Wilson's On Human Nature is an extremely important book--provocative, lucid, and fascinating.
--Choice
Author photo: by Jon Chase/Harvard 1996
Edward O. Wilson is Pellegrino University Professor at Harvard University. In addition to two Pulitzer Prizes (one of which he shares with Bert Hölldobler), Wilson has won many scientific awards, including the National Medal of Science and the Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.