Apes Quote by Carl Sagan
““We humans, as species, are interested in communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. Would not a good beginning be improved communication with terrestral intelligence, with other human beings of different cultures and languages, with the great apes, with the dolphines, but particularly with those intelligent masters of the deep, the great whales?””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Cosmos, Carl Sagan, 1980
Improving communication among humans and other intelligent species fosters mutual understanding and stewardship of Earth.
In simple terms: Talk better with humans and animals to protect Earth.
Key Takeaway
Cultivate cross‑species dialogue.
Themes
communication
empathy
environment
interconnectedness
Mood
thoughtful
inspired
Type
philosophical
ethical
When to use this quote
- international diplomacy
- education
- conservation projects
Key Concepts
anthropology
ecology
animal cognition
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we apply inter‑species communication lessons to human cultural conflicts?
- What responsibilities arise from recognizing non‑human intelligence?
![“[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion, why do you not believe in materialistic science, which has an unparalleled record of fulfilled prophecy? Consider, for example, eclipses.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/875/carl-sagan-160_belief_when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-a_25095.jpg)
![“Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this [step by step, from humans to apes to monkeys to lemurs] - leading us insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures, from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/thomas-huxley-1183_animal_perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us_3051.jpg)
