A collection of contemplative essays that displays the "father of
sociobiology" as a fine stylist and writer about nature.
"Biophilia" is a bit of affectation by a man given to coinages; by
it Wilson means humankind's abiding (genetic)
association/attraction/love for living things, as opposed to
inorganic matter. This Shakespearean theme of "one touch of nature
makes the whole world kin" dominates the essays. The opener is a
reminiscence of a day in Surinam, early in Wilson's career, which
permits him to enlarge on the theme of symbiosis in ants, on the
richness of the naturalist's terrain, as well as to recollect the
entomological discoveries of that particular day. A natural
follow-up on leafcutter ants describes the clockwork organization
of this "superorganism" Then come essays on evolution (with some
particulars on Agassiz versus Darwin), and excursions into the
nature of discovery and process in art and in science. "The
Serpent" has Wilson venturing into myth and symbol. Fear of snakes
is well-nigh universal, he declares, based on their threat in
nature; but the fear is in part learned, because children don't
instictively react. Wilson himself overcame fear to become a
teenage snake collector in the Florida panhandle, and there are
some vivid, lyrical memories of encounters with snakes and other
creatures. ("On soft spring nights after heavy rains a dozen
varieties of frogs croaked, rasped, bonged, and trilled their love
songs in mixed choruses.") The final essays are devoted to habitat
and conservation. Wilson shares a notion - held by Yi-Fu Tuan and
Rene Dubos, among others - that human beings unconsciously clamor
for a water's edge, a hilltop, a grassy plain, and clumps of trees
that bespeak human beginnings in the African savannahs. "The
Conservation Ethic" is an appeal to save dwindling species, made on
the selfish basis that they can be for human benefit, which
ultimately calls for stewardship, not mastery, over nature. The
last essay is a sad and shocking commentary on Surinam today, under
the heels of a particularly barbarous dictator. Unexpected and
undogmatic: one hopes to hear more of Wilson in this new voice.
(Kirkus Reviews)
Biophilia is Edward O. Wilson's most personal book, an evocation of
his own response to nature and an eloquent statement of the
conservation ethic. Wilson argues that our natural affinity for
life-biophilia-is the very essence of our humanity and binds us to
all other living species.
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