--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An organism at war with itself is doomed." description: "\"An organism at war with itself is doomed.\" — Carl Sagan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg" --- # An organism at war with itself is doomed. ![“An organism at war with itself is doomed.” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg) > “An organism at war with itself is doomed.” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑conflict leads to self‑destruction; internal wars doom an organism. **In simple terms:** Inner conflict destroys itself. Key Takeaway Resolve internal contradictions. Themes psychology conflict self‑destruction Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - personal crises - organizational disputes - political polarization - health decisions Key Concepts cognitive dissonance identity mental health evolutionary biology Questions to Reflect On - What internal wars do you face? - How can you reconcile them? A Different Perspective External factors also influence outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [A new consciousness is developing which sees the earth as a single organism and recognizes that an organism at war with itself is doomed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-new-consciousness-is-developing-which-sees-the-earth-as-a-single-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A new consciousness is developing which sees the earth as a single organism and recognizes that an organism at war with itself is doomed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-new-consciousness-is-developing-which-sees-the-earth-as-a-single/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Government — or an administration — isn’t really the sum of its parts like people think, because all of those parts are competing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-a-falconer/government-or-an-administration-isn-t-really-the-sum-of-its-parts/) Craig A. Falconer > [“If the Earth were as old as a person, a typical organism would be born, live and die in a sliver of a second.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-the-earth-were-as-old-as-a-person-a-typical-organism-would-be-born/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [When in organism there are cancer cells, they have to be removed, not helped because they're "so young" and "so creative".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korwin-mikke/when-in-organism-there-are-cancer-cells-they-have-to-be-removed-not/) [Janusz Korwin-Mikke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korwin-mikke/) > [A writer is an organism that will go on writing even after its heart has been cut out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/a-writer-is-an-organism-that-will-go-on-writing-even-after-its-heart/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [An organism exists for no other reason than that it is able to... The wonderful, almost transcendent thing about life on earth is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mabey/an-organism-exists-for-no-other-reason-than-that-it-is-able-to-the/) [Richard Mabey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mabey/) > [“So what is life? It’s intelligent energy combined in symbiosis with the material world. Every living being is the embodiment of a tiny part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahara-sanders/so-what-is-life-it-s-intelligent-energy-combined-in-symbiosis-with-2/) [Sahara Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahara-sanders/) > [“Gaea. The planet is an organism. All of us are cells with different purposes. And yet we are intertwined. Serving each other. Serving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/gaea-the-planet-is-an-organism-all-of-us-are-cells-with-different/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The development of an organism ... may be considered as the execution of a 'developmental program' present in the fertilized egg. ... A central…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristid-lindenmayer/the-development-of-an-organism-may-be-considered-as-the-execution-of/) Aristid Lindenmayer > [“A dying organism is often observed to be capable of extraordinary endurance and strength. ... When any living organism is attacked, its whole function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-dying-organism-is-often-observed-to-be-capable-of-extraordinary/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I seem to be a brief light that flashes but once in all the aeons of time a rare, complicated, and all-too-delicate organism on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/i-seem-to-be-a-brief-light-that-flashes-but-once-in-all-the-aeons-of/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“My organism is a link in the immense chain of cosmic cause and effect, and I can only perceive its real sense by considering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-organism-is-a-link-in-the-immense-chain-of-cosmic-cause-and-effect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Those are some of the things that molecules do, given four billion years of evolution”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/those-are-some-of-the-things-that-molecules-do-given-four-billion/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Any sufficiently crisp question can be answered by a single binary digit-0 or 1, yes or no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/any-sufficiently-crisp-question-can-be-answered-by-a-single-binary/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Humans — who enslave, castrate, experiment on, and fillet other animals — have had an understandable penchant for pretending animals do not feel pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/humans-who-enslave-castrate-experiment-on-and-fillet-other-animals/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every star may be a sun to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-star-may-be-a-sun-to-someone/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) [Explore all 1,043 Carl Sagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/) [Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/) [Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/) > [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/) Hideaki Sena > [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Evolution... is the most powerful and the most comprehensive idea that has ever arisen on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/evolution-is-the-most-powerful-and-the-most-comprehensive-idea-that/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Browse all 3,034 Biology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An organism at war with itself is doomed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Sagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Biology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/898/carl-sagan-160_biology_an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed_1834423.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An organism at war with itself is doomed.” — Carl Sagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Sagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An organism at war with itself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/an-organism-at-war-with-itself-is-doomed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```