We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.
E. O. WILSONDestroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.
More E. O. Wilson Quotes
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The education of women is the best way to save the environment.
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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.
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Jehovah had nothing to say to Moses and the others about the care of the planet. He had plenty to say about tribal loyalty and conquest.
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I’m very much a Christian in ideals and ethics, especially in terms of belief in fairness, a deep set obligation to others, and the virtues of charity, tolerance and generosity that we associate with traditional Christian teaching.
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The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavor alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable.
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We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.
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The two major challenges for the 21st century are to improve the economic situation of the majority and save as much of the planet as we can.
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One thing I did was grow up as an ardent naturalist. I never grew out of my bug period.
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Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds… is not productive.
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Well, let me tell you, ants are the dominant insects. They make up as much as a quarter of the biomass of all insects in the world. They are the principal predators. They’re the cemetery workers.
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Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals.
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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.
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Political ideology can corrupt the mind, and science.
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The world depends on fungi, because they are major players in the cycling of materials and energy around the world.
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In 2010, my two Harvard mathematician colleagues and I dismantled kin-selection theory, which was the reigning theory of the origin of altruism at the time.
E. O. WILSON