E. O. Wilson Quotes


Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction. E. O. Wilson Nature 157
If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos. E. O. Wilson Chaos 134
Old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false. E. O. Wilson Beliefs 109
Political ideology can corrupt the mind, and science. E. O. Wilson Science 89
True character arises from a deeper well than religion. E. O. Wilson Religion 84
There is no better high than discovery. E. O. Wilson Discovery 83
The historical circumstance of interest is that the tropical rain forests have persisted over broad parts of the continents since their origins as stronghold of the flowering plants 150 million years ago. E. O. Wilson Broad 77
If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth. E. O. Wilson Science 75
Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal. E. O. Wilson Burning 75
The human mind evolved to believe in the gods. It did not evolve to believe in biology. E. O. Wilson Believe 74
Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society. E. O. Wilson Society 74
The work on ants has profoundly affected the way I think about humans. E. O. Wilson Work 70
The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us. E. O. Wilson Correct 69
We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely. E. O. Wilson Wisdom 65
If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavor alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable. E. O. Wilson Alone 65
A very Faustian choice is upon us: whether to accept our corrosive and risky behavior as the unavoidable price of population and economic growth, or to take stock of ourselves and search for a new environmental ethic. E. O. Wilson Environmental 64
Every major religion today is a winner in the Darwinian struggle waged among cultures, and none ever flourished by tolerating its rivals. E. O. Wilson Religion 62
Perhaps the time has come to cease calling it the environmentalist view, as though it were a lobbying effort outside the mainstream of human activity, and to start calling it the real-world view. E. O. Wilson Time 60
I see no way out of the problems that organized religion and tribalism create other than humans just becoming more honest and fully aware of themselves. E. O. Wilson Religion 57
I was a senior in high school when I decided I wanted to work on ants as a career. I just fell in love with them, and have never regretted it. E. O. Wilson Work 56
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. E. O. Wilson Blessed 55
In my heart, I'm an Alabaman who went up north to work. E. O. Wilson Work 54
The education of women is the best way to save the environment. E. O. Wilson best 54
The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam or any religion that believes in a supernatural supervalance over humanity. E. O. Wilson Religion 52
Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds... is not productive. E. O. Wilson Science 51
Theology made no provision for evolution. The biblical authors had missed the most important revelation of all! Could it be that they were not really privy to the thoughts of God? E. O. Wilson Authors 50
When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all. E. O. Wilson Ant 49
Sometimes a concept is baffling not because it is profound but because it is wrong. E. O. Wilson Baffling 46
To the extent that philosophical positions both confuse us and close doors to further inquiry, they are likely to be wrong. E. O. Wilson Close 46
For me, the peculiar qualities of faith are a logical outcome of this level of biological organization. E. O. Wilson Faith 44
You are capable of more than you know. Choose a goal that seems right for you and strive to be the best, however hard the path. Aim high. Behave honorably. Prepare to be alone at times, and to endure failure. Persist! The world needs all you can give. E. O. Wilson Failure 43
But I feel music has a very important role in ritual activity, and that being able to join in musical activity, along with dancing, could have been necessary at a very early stage of human culture. E. O. Wilson Music 40
We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity. E. O. Wilson Biodiversity 37
Even as empiricism is winning the mind, transcendentalism continues to win the heart. E. O. Wilson Continues 34
Blind faith, no matter how passionately expressed, will not suffice. Science for its part will test relentlessly every assumption about the human condition. E. O. Wilson Science 31
By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified. E. O. Wilson Science 28
People need a sacred narrative. They must have a sense of larger purpose, in one form or another, however intellectualized. They will find a way to keep ancestral spirits alive. E. O. Wilson Alive 27

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E. O. Wilson Quotes

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