--- title: "22 Natural Quotes By E. O. Wilson" description: "22 Natural quotes by E. O. Wilson. Plus more from E. O. Wilson and more Natural sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/e-o-wilson-1348_biology_evolution-by-natural-selection-is-not-an_2028243.png" --- > [Evolution by natural selection is not an idle hypothesis. The genetic variation on which selection acts is well understood in principle all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/evolution-by-natural-selection-is-not-an-idle-hypothesis-the-genetic/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7d/e-o-wilson-1348_biology_evolution-by-natural-selection-is-not-an_2028243.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) > [We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection-and-must-now-look-deep/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/e-o-wilson-1348_become_we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection_1246581.png) > [Of course, there is no reconciliation between the theory of evolution by natural selection and the traditional religious view of the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/of-course-there-is-no-reconciliation-between-the-theory-of-evolution/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70c/e-o-wilson-1348_evolution_of-course-there-is-no-reconciliation-bet_2568172.png) > [I doubt that most people with short-term thinking love the natural world enough to save it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-doubt-that-most-people-with-short-term-thinking-love-the-natural/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbe/e-o-wilson-1348_doubt_i-doubt-that-most-people-with-short-term_941222.png) > [I had in mind a message, although I hope it doesn't intrude too badly, persuading Americans, and especially Southerners, of the critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope-it-doesn-t-intrude-too-badly/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/e-o-wilson-1348_critical_i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope_2251517.png) > [Biology has finally opened up to achieve a unifying embrace of all its disciplines. We're seeing the renaissance of what could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve-a-unifying-embrace-of-all/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fb/e-o-wilson-1348_achieve_biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve_2394696.png) > [ \[The natural world cleans water, pollinates plants and provides pharmaceuticals, among many other gifts.\] Thirty trillion dollars worth of services, scot-free to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinates-plants-and-provides/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/869/e-o-wilson-1348_dollars_the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinate_253878.png) > [The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-opinion-is-the-one-endemic-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/e-o-wilson-1348_born_the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-op_2320666.png) > [ \[T\]he true natural sciences lock together in theory and evidence to form the ineradicable technical base of modern civilization. The pseudosciences satisfy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together-in-theory-and-evidence-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/e-o-wilson-1348_civilization_t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together_2419733.png) > [Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made us. Soon we must look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-species-is-about-to-decommission/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/e-o-wilson-1348_deep-within_homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-specie_2249743.png) > [The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-take-millions-of-years-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/e-o-wilson-1348_conservation_the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-t_2702281.jpg) > [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) > [Yes, the natural sciences are telling us a great deal about human origins, the origins of our species the origins of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us-a-great-deal-about-human/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/e-o-wilson-1348_accepting_yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us_338082.png) > [The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happen-in-fact-is-already-well/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/398/e-o-wilson-1348_catastrophe_the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happe_331082.png) > [We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do with the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environment-worldwide-and-we-re-not/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg) > [Without the instruments and accumulated knowledge of the natural sciences... humans are trapped in a cognitive prison. They are like intelligent fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-the-instruments-and-accumulated-knowledge-of-the-natural/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/e-o-wilson-1348_always-wrong_without-the-instruments-and-accumulated_435208.png) > [That's the way to get young people. Once they see there are wonderful things to hunt for, to rediscover a species that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once-they-see-there-are-wonderful/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/171/e-o-wilson-1348_adventure_that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once_2654314.jpg) > [We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct. And let us go beyond mere salvage to begin the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-species-or-race-to-go-extinct-and/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/e-o-wilson-1348_age_we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-specie_2198438.jpg) > [Every ecosystem, even a small one, is sustainable because it has certain ensembles and conditions and influences that are unique to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/every-ecosystem-even-a-small-one-is-sustainable-because-it-has/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69e/e-o-wilson-1348_ecosystem_every-ecosystem-even-a-small-one-is-sust_2334985.png) > [In fact, nothing in science as a whole has been more firmly established by interwoven factual information, or more illuminating than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-fact-nothing-in-science-as-a-whole-has-been-more-firmly/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/e-o-wilson-1348_atheism_in-fact-nothing-in-science-as-a-whole-ha_2722138.jpg) > [I would say that for the sake of human progress, the best thing we could possibly do would be to diminish, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-would-say-that-for-the-sake-of-human-progress-the-best-thing-we/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/e-o-wilson-1348_asking_i-would-say-that-for-the-sake-of-human-p_3099706.png) ## Other authors on Natural ## 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/natural/e-o-wilson/#itemlist", "name": "22 Natural Quotes By E. O. Wilson", "numberOfItems": 22, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Evolution by natural selection is not an idle hypothesis. The genetic variation on which selection acts is well understood in principle all the way down to the molecular level.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. 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Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope-it-doesn-t-intrude-too-badly/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/e-o-wilson-1348_critical_i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope_2251517.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/e-o-wilson-1348_critical_i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope_2251517.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/64b/e-o-wilson-1348_critical_i-had-in-mind-a-message-although-i-hope_2251517.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had in mind a message, although I hope it doesn't intrude too badly, persuading Americans, and especially…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Biology has finally opened up to achieve a unifying embrace of all its disciplines. We're seeing the renaissance of what could be called scientific natural history, which makes available the groundwork - the foundation work - of what is actually on the Earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve-a-unifying-embrace-of-all/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fb/e-o-wilson-1348_achieve_biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve_2394696.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fb/e-o-wilson-1348_achieve_biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve_2394696.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fb/e-o-wilson-1348_achieve_biology-has-finally-opened-up-to-achieve_2394696.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Biology has finally opened up to achieve a unifying embrace of all its disciplines. We're seeing the…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[The natural world cleans water, pollinates plants and provides pharmaceuticals, among many other gifts.] Thirty trillion dollars worth of services, scot-free to humanity, every year.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinates-plants-and-provides/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/869/e-o-wilson-1348_dollars_the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinate_253878.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/869/e-o-wilson-1348_dollars_the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinate_253878.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/869/e-o-wilson-1348_dollars_the-natural-world-cleans-water-pollinate_253878.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[The natural world cleans water, pollinates plants and provides pharmaceuticals, among many other gifts.]…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of this world. With a second life waiting, suffering can be endured--especially in other people. The natural environment can be used up. Enemies of the faith can be savaged and suicidal martyrdom praised.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-opinion-is-the-one-endemic-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/e-o-wilson-1348_born_the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-op_2320666.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/e-o-wilson-1348_born_the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-op_2320666.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e43/e-o-wilson-1348_born_the-most-dangerous-of-devotions-in-my-op_2320666.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most dangerous of devotions, in my opinion, is the one endemic to Christianity: I was not born to be of…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[T]he true natural sciences lock together in theory and evidence to form the ineradicable technical base of modern civilization. The pseudosciences satisfy personal psychological needs... but lack the ideas or the means to contribute to the technical base.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together-in-theory-and-evidence-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/e-o-wilson-1348_civilization_t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together_2419733.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/e-o-wilson-1348_civilization_t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together_2419733.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db8/e-o-wilson-1348_civilization_t-he-true-natural-sciences-lock-together_2419733.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[T]he true natural sciences lock together in theory and evidence to form the ineradicable technical base of…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made us. Soon we must look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-species-is-about-to-decommission/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/e-o-wilson-1348_deep-within_homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-specie_2249743.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/e-o-wilson-1348_deep-within_homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-specie_2249743.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/e-o-wilson-1348_deep-within_homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-specie_2249743.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-take-millions-of-years-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/e-o-wilson-1348_conservation_the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-t_2702281.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/e-o-wilson-1348_conservation_the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-t_2702281.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/577/e-o-wilson-1348_conservation_the-one-process-now-going-on-that-will-t_2702281.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. clean air or water with fusion energy - we are kidding ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-complexities-of-nature-if-we/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6c/e-o-wilson-1348_air_we-don-t-know-nearly-enough-about-the-co_1833558.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Yes, the natural sciences are telling us a great deal about human origins, the origins of our species the origins of our minds; we're on our way to explaining a large part of it. I'll accept an answer provided only by such means as obtaining and exploring, analyzing and arguing over the evidence - not because of a scribe's myopic view of the subject written 500 years before the birth of Christ!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us-a-great-deal-about-human/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/e-o-wilson-1348_accepting_yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us_338082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/e-o-wilson-1348_accepting_yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us_338082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb5/e-o-wilson-1348_accepting_yes-the-natural-sciences-are-telling-us_338082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Yes, the natural sciences are telling us a great deal about human origins, the origins of our species the…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian governments. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired in a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happen-in-fact-is-already-well/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/398/e-o-wilson-1348_catastrophe_the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happe_331082.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/398/e-o-wilson-1348_catastrophe_the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happe_331082.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/398/e-o-wilson-1348_catastrophe_the-worst-thing-that-will-probably-happe_331082.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The worst thing that will probably happen-in fact is already well underway-is not energy depletion, economic…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do with the rest of this century is aggressively acquire - and put aside - the richest natural reserves that we can, and then do our best to manage the needs and desires of the 11 billion people we expect to have by the end of the century. This is where biology is headed. For that reason, the sooner we get on with mapping biodiversity on Earth, the better off biology will be - not to mention the whole subject of saving it before we carelessly throw it away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environment-worldwide-and-we-re-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/e-o-wilson-1348_biodiversity_we-have-to-create-a-sustainable-environm_1597044.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have to create a sustainable environment, worldwide, and we're not doing it. The best thing we can do…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without the instruments and accumulated knowledge of the natural sciences... humans are trapped in a cognitive prison. They are like intelligent fish born in a deep shallowed pool. Wondering and restless, longing to reach out, they think about the world outside. They invent ingenious speculations and myths about the origin of the confining waters, of the sun and the sky and the stars above , and the meaning of their own existence. But they are wrong, always wrong because the world is too remote from ordinary experience to be merely imagined.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-the-instruments-and-accumulated-knowledge-of-the-natural/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/e-o-wilson-1348_always-wrong_without-the-instruments-and-accumulated_435208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/e-o-wilson-1348_always-wrong_without-the-instruments-and-accumulated_435208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59a/e-o-wilson-1348_always-wrong_without-the-instruments-and-accumulated_435208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without the instruments and accumulated knowledge of the natural sciences... humans are trapped in a…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's the way to get young people. Once they see there are wonderful things to hunt for, to rediscover a species that was thought to be extinct or is extremely rare, to be the first to see a nest, to discover a new species unsuspected close to your home - these are things, I think, with a little education and excitement and the right kind of natural history would actually start a movement that makes going back to nature a profitable adventure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once-they-see-there-are-wonderful/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/171/e-o-wilson-1348_adventure_that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once_2654314.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/171/e-o-wilson-1348_adventure_that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once_2654314.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/171/e-o-wilson-1348_adventure_that-s-the-way-to-get-young-people-once_2654314.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's the way to get young people. Once they see there are wonderful things to hunt for, to rediscover a…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct. And let us go beyond mere salvage to begin the restoration of natural environments, in order to enlarge wild populations and stanch the hemorrhaging of biological wealth. There can be no purpose more enspiriting than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-species-or-race-to-go-extinct-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/e-o-wilson-1348_age_we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-specie_2198438.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/e-o-wilson-1348_age_we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-specie_2198438.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/e-o-wilson-1348_age_we-should-not-knowingly-allow-any-specie_2198438.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We should not knowingly allow any species or race to go extinct. And let us go beyond mere salvage to begin…” — E. O. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every ecosystem, even a small one, is sustainable because it has certain ensembles and conditions and influences that are unique to it. And the biological ensembles are almost certainly, even the most modest ones, in the thousands of species. We don't know what's involved in the models - not even the beginnings. And yet we're trying to make a sustainable world, which has to include the natural world. The human species is triumphant, but it's got to get a grip. It's got to come to understand what's happened, why we're this way and what we're doing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. 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Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In fact, nothing in science as a whole has been more firmly established by interwoven factual information, or more illuminating than the universal occurrence of biological evolution. Further, few natural processes have been more convincingly explained than evolution by the theory of natural selection, or as it has been popularly called, Darwinism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. 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Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I would say that for the sake of human progress, the best thing we could possibly do would be to diminish, to the point of eliminating, religious faiths. But certainly not eliminating the natural yearnings of our species or the asking of these great questions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E. O. 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