Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
When you get into the whole field of exploring, probably 90 percent of the kinds of organisms, plants, animals and especially microorganisms… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
There are millions and millions of species, including organisms most people have never heard of. There is so much that waits to… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
It may be argued that to know one kind of beetle is to know them all. But a species is not like… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
No one knows the diversity in the world, not even to the nearest order of magnitude. ... We don't know for sure… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
Each of these [bacterial] species are masterpieces of evolution. Each has persisted for thousands to millions of years. Each is exquisitely adapted… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
The big question that scientists haven't even begun to get an answer for is how many species of microorganisms are there? Now,… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
[Bacteria are the] dark matter of the biological world [with 4 million mostly unknown species in a ton of soil]. — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
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… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems. — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image