Charles J. Lumsden is a Canadian biologist

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 in the Department of Medicine and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. He has been an early proponent of sociobiology

Sociobiology

Sociobiology is a field of scientific study which is based on the assumption that social behavior has resulted from evolution and attempts to explain and examine social behavior within that context. Often considered a branch of biology and sociology, it also draws from ethology, anthropology,...

, looking to our genetic nature to supplement culture in describing what makes us human. He wrote two influential books in collaboration with Edward O. Wilson Genes, Mind and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process. (Harvard University Press, 1981) and Promethean Fire: Reflections on the Origin of Mind (Harvard University Press, 1983). Part of his interests lies in the mathematical and philosophical bases of physical theory in biology, and the origins of creativity

Creativity

Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...

. He has also co-edited biology textbooks, notably Physical Theory in Biology: Foundations and Explorations 1997.