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
If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
While ants exist in just the right numbers for the rest of the living world, humans have become too numerous. If we… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
So important are insects and other land-dwelling arthropods that if all were to disappear, humanity probably could not last more than a… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share Image
If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years… — 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems. — E. O. Wilson Copy Share
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
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
Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can… — E. O. Wilson Copy Share
The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined. — E. O. Wilson Copy Share
