--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Art and literature need extreme sociality…" description: "\"Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that even dolphins don't have. We are the only large mammalian species that has such intense soci..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b03/brian-boyd-27592_art_art-and-literature-need-extreme-socialit_3173388.jpg" --- # Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that… ![“Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that even dolphins don't have. We are the only large mammalian species that has such intense sociality. There are some small mammals that have become eusocial - the mole rats - but that's a different thing. Humans are able to understand one…” quote by Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b03/brian-boyd-27592_art_art-and-literature-need-extreme-socialit_3173388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b03/brian-boyd-27592_art_art-and-literature-need-extreme-socialit_3173388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b03/brian-boyd-27592_art_art-and-literature-need-extreme-socialit_3173388.jpg) > “Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that even dolphins don't have. We are the only large mammalian species that has such intense sociality. There are some small mammals that have become eusocial - the mole rats - but that's a different thing. Humans are able to understand one another at very high levels, to cooperate in very large groups. Humans depend on one another in ways that are an absolute precondition to sharing the kinds of information that makes narrative possible.” [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human sociality is uniquely complex, enabling large‑scale cooperation and narrative sharing. **In simple terms:** Humans have deep social connections that support cooperation. Key Takeaway Leverage social networks for collaboration. Themes sociality cooperation narrative Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - team projects - community building - storytelling - education Key Concepts evolutionary psychology communication culture Questions to Reflect On - How can we strengthen trust in large groups? - What limits our social cooperation? A Different Perspective Human social bonds can be fragile and conflict‑prone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art And Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-literature/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Extreme Sociality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-sociality-5785399/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Sociality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-sociality-5785400/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Mammalian Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammalian-species-2593754/) [Mammals Eusocial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mammals-eusocial-5785398/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Sociality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociality-416079/) ## Related quotes > [In all mammalian species that have so far been carefully studied, the rate at which their members engage in the killing of conspecifics is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/in-all-mammalian-species-that-have-so-far-been-carefully-studied-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [We, Homo sapiens, destroyed the majority of the large mammalian species in North America and Australasia just over 10,000 years ago. We, Homo sapiens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/we-homo-sapiens-destroyed-the-majority-of-the-large-mammalian-species/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) > [“at least a fifth of all mammalian species are bats.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-shanor/at-least-a-fifth-of-all-mammalian-species-are-bats/) [Karen Shanor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-shanor/) > [“Human sociality is often assumed to be entirely a matter of culture, originating from the age of life when children are taught to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/human-sociality-is-often-assumed-to-be-entirely-a-matter-of-culture/) [Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/) > [We are somehow natured, not just to reproduce, but for sociality and even for culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-kass/we-are-somehow-natured-not-just-to-reproduce-but-for-sociality-and/) [Leon Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-kass/) > [“Mutual tolerance between two or more females is the first step towards sociality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-michener/mutual-tolerance-between-two-or-more-females-is-the-first-step/) [Paul Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-michener/) > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [Sobriety, severity, and self-respect are the foundations of all true sociality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/sobriety-severity-and-self-respect-are-the-foundations-of-all-true/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think America is really well-positioned, because we do train people to be creative and sometimes resist authority, which helps in being an innovator.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/i-think-america-is-really-well-positioned-because-we-do-train-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [In other countries, art and literature are left to a lot of shabby bums living in attics and feeding on booze and spaghetti, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/in-other-countries-art-and-literature-are-left-to-a-lot-of-shabby/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Wealth protects and animates art and literature, as the dew enlivens the fields." Nonsense! Wealth animates art and literature, as the whistle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/various/wealth-protects-and-animates-art-and-literature-as-the-dew-enlivens/) [Various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/various/) > [I don't really believe in political art. I feel in my heart the purpose of art transcends cultural and class and politics. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/i-don-t-really-believe-in-political-art-i-feel-in-my-heart-the/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [The contemporary thing in art and literature is the thing which doesn't make enough difference to the people of that generation so that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/the-contemporary-thing-in-art-and-literature-is-the-thing-which-doesn/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [“When was the last time an American president found it worth his while to write a speech on the importance of art and literature?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/when-was-the-last-time-an-american-president-found-it-worth-his-while/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [The study of history and philosophy, accompanied by some acquaintance with art and literature, should be for lawyers and engineers as well as for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-study-of-history-and-philosophy-accompanied-by-some-acquaintance/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## More by Brian Boyd > [Popper and Nabokov are very different people in some ways - and I'm ready to devote large chunks of my life to both of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/popper-and-nabokov-are-very-different-people-in-some-ways-and-i-m/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Any artist who really engages with the problems in their medium at that moment and tries to deepen the problems is likely to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/any-artist-who-really-engages-with-the-problems-in-their-medium-at/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Perhaps the most demanding trick in all of art is to know ways that are going to capture the attention of an audience right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/perhaps-the-most-demanding-trick-in-all-of-art-is-to-know-ways-that/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [There's a young Danish guy who has done a lot of work from an evolutionary perspective, Mathias Clasen. Basically, his argument is we've evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/there-s-a-young-danish-guy-who-has-done-a-lot-of-work-from-an/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [I think that's an important part of art in general. Especially in literature, in stories, we play with eventualities that may put us through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/i-think-that-s-an-important-part-of-art-in-general-especially-in/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Everything is humanities. The sciences are a form of the humanities. They involve traditions of inquiry; they involve social engagement with ideas. They do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/everything-is-humanities-the-sciences-are-a-form-of-the-humanities/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Scientists, to give them credit, do not think of the humanities in a negative way. It's the bureaucrats who want to cut costs who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/scientists-to-give-them-credit-do-not-think-of-the-humanities-in-a/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [“Writing of Pushkin, Nabokov once observed quite accurately that his subject was the threefold formula of human life: the irretrievability of the past, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/writing-of-pushkin-nabokov-once-observed-quite-accurately-that-his/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [I would be very surprised if on another planet we discovered a species as intelligent as humans that didn't have narrative, or didn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/i-would-be-very-surprised-if-on-another-planet-we-discovered-a/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [There is behavioral ecology, which looks closely at the difference different ecologies make to behavior and other features of animals and humans. There's evolutionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/there-is-behavioral-ecology-which-looks-closely-at-the-difference/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [It seems to me to make as much sense to talk about literature as a large-scale human phenomenon without bringing in evolution as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/it-seems-to-me-to-make-as-much-sense-to-talk-about-literature-as-a/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [If an artwork never gets any attention from anybody, then obviously it's got problems. If it gains attention from a very small elite, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/if-an-artwork-never-gets-any-attention-from-anybody-then-obviously-it/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [Literature often gets taught nowadays as a record of the sins and shortcomings of the past. I see literature and the arts very differently:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/literature-often-gets-taught-nowadays-as-a-record-of-the-sins-and/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [I guess both Nabokov and Popper had, in different ways, immunized me against the fashion for French-influenced literary theory in the '70s, '80s, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/i-guess-both-nabokov-and-popper-had-in-different-ways-immunized-me/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [I think like almost everything in evolution, the old forms persist. New forms come along - not always, of course; there are species and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/i-think-like-almost-everything-in-evolution-the-old-forms-persist-new/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) [Explore all 20 Brian Boyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Art and literature need extreme sociality to a degree that even dolphins don't have. 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