E. O. Wilson Quotes

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, Best, Alone

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

Truth, Spiritual, Humanity

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

Rich, State, Chaos

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, Failure, Successful

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

Time, Wisdom, Important

Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal.
E. O. Wilson

Painting, Economic, Gain

Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.
E. O. Wilson

Nature, Spiritual, Key

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.
E. O. Wilson

Selfish, Win, Between

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

Great, Blessed, Debt

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

Faith, Science, Human

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, Today, Struggle

Political ideology can corrupt the mind, and science.
E. O. Wilson

Science, Mind, Political

When you have seen one ant, one bird, one tree, you have not seen them all.
E. O. Wilson

Seen, Bird, Tree

Every kid has a bug period... I never grew out of mine.
E. O. Wilson

Kid, Mine, Period

Ants have the most complicated social organization on earth next to humans.
E. O. Wilson

Social, Earth, Next

By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified.
E. O. Wilson

Faith, Science, Reasonable

It's obvious that the key problem facing humanity in the coming century is how to bring a better quality of life - for 8 billion or more people - without wrecking the environment entirely in the attempt.
E. O. Wilson

Life, Humanity, Problem

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, Human, Start

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

Forgive, Process, Natural

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

Humanity, Understand, Learn

Companies that are willing to share, to withhold in order to further the growth of the company, willing to try to get a better atmosphere through a demonstration of democratic principles, fairness and cooperation, a better product, those will win in the end.
E. O. Wilson

End, Win, Through

I tend to believe that religious dogma is a consequence of evolution.
E. O. Wilson

Religious, Evolution, Dogma

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.
E. O. Wilson

Deep, Christian, Others

The education of women is the best way to save the environment.
E. O. Wilson

Education, Women, Best

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

God, Important, Made

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Scientist

Born: June 10, 1929

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Cite this Page: Citation

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