|
by Edward O. Wilson 
A moving autobiography of a humanist naturalist
Shakespeare wrote that "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." Edward O. Wilson seems to be a combination of the last two. I would say that he was entirely the second, for it is only by the dint of his hard work and discipline that Wilson is as great a naturalist as he is, but he seems not to have sought greatness at all, but merely to have followed the calling of his heart; he rode the waves of fortune to unintentionally make himself into one of the greatest naturalists since Darwin. The similarity between them does not stop there: the ideas of Darwin were exceedingly controversial, and yet the man himself, in contrast to his bold ideas, was unassuming and reserved. The same could be said of Wilson. And like the good evolutionary biologist that he is, Wilson's life, its unpredictable twists and turns, parallel the randomness of natural selection. A bumpy family life meant that he moved frequently, and that he was often alone: in response, he took refuge in the wild places and the natural history institutions of the places where he found himself, thus focussing and increasing his love of nature and the sciences. An accident of early life caused him to become very nearsighted, and so he turned to the study of the ants: and on this subject he is a recognized authority. Even his will and his discipline were not characteristics he himself sought out or developed; rather, they were traits which were instilled in him early on. Random chance gave him the tools by which he would become a great naturalist. Wilson appears to be a man who knows not the word "problem," only "opportunity." The means by which he took advantage of his nearsightedness I have mentioned; he likewise learned to work with, instead of against, the unconscious muscle tremors which make dissection of very small objects difficult. Perhaps the greatest testimony to his ability to turn a problem into an opportunity is in this line: "Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies [...] I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled my energies and drove me in new directions." These words could be merely self-serving justifications for failure, if Wilson had not achieved in the eyes of others, or if he had not accomplished what he set out to do, which was to be as great a naturalist as he could be: that he did both reveals these sentiments to be the mature recognition of his hard work and dedication to the struggle in the face of adversity coming at him from unexpected directions. I must say that when I came to this book, I did not accept Wilson's sociobiology, and I still do not see that it is supported by solid proof. It is all the more amazing to me, then, that I am thoroughly moved by this account of his life, in its discovery of the natural world and in the author's sense of wonder at life around him. The lauds which Wilson has received, I suspect, are nothing compared to the joy he gains through his work and his studies. I don't know what Wilson reads in his spare time, but he has written a text with echoes of Wordsworth and Whitman: his life in nature is no mere analysis and dissection, but a glorious presentation of his wonder before the natural world. Wilson paraphrases Wordsworth's declaration that "the child is the father of the man" as "Most children have a bug period. I never outgrew mine." Wilson has followed his bliss into his adult life, and it has brought him fame and joy. The ultimate paragraphs of his book reveal that though he would change the focus of his studies, he would in no wise vary his field of study, nor the course of his life: he would be then, as he is now, a man who followed the dictates of his heart, who took the random events of his childhood and shaped them into a life that brought him great pleasure. It is fitting, then, that this book should do the same for the reader: out of his experiences, Wilson has created one of the most entertaining and moving autobiographies I have ever read. |
