--- title: "4 Devices Quotes By E. O. Wilson" description: "4 Devices quotes by E. O. Wilson. Plus more from E. O. Wilson and more Devices sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36f/e-o-wilson-1348_devices_no-species-possesses-a-purpose-beyond-th_396734.png" --- > [No species ... possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history ... The human mind is a device for survival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/no-species-possesses-a-purpose-beyond-the-imperatives-created-by/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36f/e-o-wilson-1348_devices_no-species-possesses-a-purpose-beyond-th_396734.png) > [We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-complexities-of-nature-if-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png) > [Women are extraordinary in lacking the estrus, or period of heat. The females of most other primate species become sexually active, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/women-are-extraordinary-in-lacking-the-estrus-or-period-of-heat-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83b/e-o-wilson-1348_active_women-are-extraordinary-in-lacking-the-e_1840605.png) > [In the process of natural selection, then, any device that can insert a higher proportion of certain genes into subsequent generations will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-the-process-of-natural-selection-then-any-device-that-can-insert-a/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/e-o-wilson-1348_certain_in-the-process-of-natural-selection-then_2425338.jpg) ## Other authors on Devices ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-biological-evolutionary-perception-of-life-and-of-human-qualities/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-preserve-every-scrap-of-biodiversity-as-priceless-while-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/e-o-wilson/#itemlist", "name": "4 Devices Quotes By E. O. Wilson", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No species ... possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history ... The human mind is a device for survival and reproduction, and reason is just one of its various techniques.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. 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