Quotes by Edward O. Wilson

“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 int...”

“The race is now on between the technoscientific and scientific forces that are destroying the living environment and those that can be harnessed to save it. . . . If the race is won, humanity can e...”

“They travel long distances to stroll along the seashore, for reasons they can't put into words.”

“There is no better high than discovery.”

“People would rather believe than know.”

“Human beings were made for music. Its thrill and rapture are picked up almost immediately by little children”

“Human beings appear to be sufficiently selfish and calculating to be capable of indefinitely greater harmony and social homeostasis. This statement is not self-contradictory. True selfishness, if o...”

“We are a biological species arising from Earths biosphere as one adapted species among many; and however splendid our languages and cultures, however rich and subtle our minds, however vast our cre...”

“The best way to live in this real world is to free ourselves of demons and tribal gods.”

“The predisposition to religious belief is an ineradicable part of human behavior. Mankind has produced 100,000 religions. It is an illusion to think that scientific humanism and learning will dispe...”

“Very often ambition and entrepreneurial drive, in combination, beat brilliance.”

“You teach me, I forget. You show me, I remember. You involve me, I understand.”

“I will argue that every scrap of biological diversity is priceless, to be learned and cherished, and never to be surrendered without a struggle.”

“Science, its imperfections notwithstanding, is the sword in the stone that humanity finally pulled. The question it poses, of universal and orderly materialism, is the most important that can be as...”

“Humanity is a biological species, living in a biological environment, because like all species, we are exquisitely adapted in everything: from our behavior, to our genetics, to our physiology, to t...”

“And we really should be considering the moral implications of what we're doing. What kind of a species are we that we treat the rest of life so cheaply? There are those who think that's the destiny...”

“Another principle that I believe can be justified by scientific evidence so far is that nobody is going to emigrate from this planet not ever....It will be far cheaper, and entail no risk to human ...”

“Social intelligence was therefore always at a high premium. A sharp sense of empathy can make a huge difference, and with it in an ability to manipulate, to gain cooperation, and to deceive.”

“[E]very major religion today is a winner in the Darwinian struggle waged among cultures, and none ever flourished by tolerating its rivals.”

“[Scientific humanism is] the only worldview compatible with science's growing knowledge of the real world and the laws of nature.”