Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society.
E. O. WILSONIf those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way.
More E. O. Wilson Quotes
-
-
The world depends on fungi, because they are major players in the cycling of materials and energy around the world.
E. O. WILSON -
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.
E. O. WILSON -
If history and science have taught us anything, it is that passion and desire are not the same as truth.
E. O. WILSON -
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 -
Blind faith, no matter how passionately expressed, will not suffice.
E. O. WILSON -
By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified.
E. O. WILSON -
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 -
The essence of humanity’s spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another. Is there a way to erase the dilemma, to resolve the contradictions between the transcendentalist and the empiricist world views?
E. O. WILSON -
Change will come slowly, across generations, because old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false.
E. O. WILSON -
Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.
E. O. WILSON -
If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months.
E. O. WILSON -
It’s always been a great survival value for people to believe they belong to a superior tribe. That’s just in human relationships.
E. O. WILSON -
Science and religion are the two most powerful forces in the world. Having them at odds… is not productive.
E. O. WILSON -
People respect nonfiction but they read novels.
E. O. WILSON -
There is no better high than discovery.
E. O. WILSON






