--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human history can be viewed as a slowly…" description: "\"“Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. Initially our loyalties were to ourselves and our imm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/carl-sagan-160_character-building_human-history-can-be-viewed-as-a-slowly_859970.jpg" --- # Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness… ![“Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. Initially our loyalties were to ourselves and our immediate family, next, to bands of wandering hunter-gatherers, then to tribes, small settlements, city-states, nations. We have broadened the circle…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/carl-sagan-160_character-building_human-history-can-be-viewed-as-a-slowly_859970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/carl-sagan-160_character-building_human-history-can-be-viewed-as-a-slowly_859970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/649/carl-sagan-160_character-building_human-history-can-be-viewed-as-a-slowly_859970.jpg) > ““Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. Initially our loyalties were to ourselves and our immediate family, next, to bands of wandering hunter-gatherers, then to tribes, small settlements, city-states, nations. We have broadened the circle of those we love. We have now organized what are modestly described as super-powers, which include groups of people from divergent ethnic and cultural backgrounds working in some sense together — surely a humanizing and character building experience. If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth. Many of those who run the nations will find this idea unpleasant. They will fear the loss of power. We will hear much about treason and disloyalty. Rich nation-states will have to share their wealth with poor ones. But the choice, as H. G. Wells once said in a different context, is clearly the universe or nothing.”” [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. Human progress requires expanding loyalty beyond kin and nation to a planetary community, despite resistance from entrenched powers. **In simple terms:** Broaden loyalty to all humanity. Key Takeaway Cultivate global empathy. Themes humanity globalism ethics politics environment Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - international policy - climate action - education reform - peacebuilding Key Concepts collective identity power dynamics resource sharing Questions to Reflect On - What steps can individuals take to foster planetary loyalty? - How can institutions balance power with global equity? A Different Perspective May underestimate cultural complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-building/) [Communion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communion/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Immediate family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immediate-family/) [Loyalties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalties/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Planet earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet-earth/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Sharing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharing/) ## Related quotes > [If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/if-we-are-to-survive-our-loyalties-must-be-broadened-further-to/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Our loyalties are to the species and the planet. We speak for Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/our-loyalties-are-to-the-species-and-the-planet-we-speak-for-earth/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group Groups of people from divergent ethnic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/human-history-can-be-viewed-as-a-slowly-dawning-awareness-that-we-are-3/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“I was hers in ways that those with loyalties of convenience cannot fathom. I loved her beyond words and clothes, and yes beyond even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-livingston/i-was-hers-in-ways-that-those-with-loyalties-of-convenience-cannot/) Sonja Livingston > [“She’s a bargirl. You don’t know where her loyalties lie. That one was unconvincing. No one had directed her against me—I was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/she-s-a-bargirl-you-don-t-know-where-her-loyalties-lie-that-one-was/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“In the human world you had to choose your loyalties carefully. You had to see through to someone's heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/in-the-human-world-you-had-to-choose-your-loyalties-carefully-you-had/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Every individual is a meeting ground for many different allegiances, and sometimes these loyalties conflict with one another and confront the person who harbors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amin-maalouf/every-individual-is-a-meeting-ground-for-many-different-allegiances/) [Amin Maalouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amin-maalouf/) > [Throughout human history, people have developed strong loyalties to traditions, rituals, and symbols. In the most effective organizations, they are not only respected but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/throughout-human-history-people-have-developed-strong-loyalties-to/) [Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/) > [They were governed by private loyalties which they did not question. What mattered were individual relationships, and a completely helpless gesture, an embrace, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/they-were-governed-by-private-loyalties-which-they-did-not-question/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [When I got the money, the whole burden descended on me, and the realization of what I had done. And it led me then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/when-i-got-the-money-the-whole-burden-descended-on-me-and-the/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [It takes a major unhappiness, a prolonged and bitter experience, to drive us away from loyalties once formed. And sometimes no amount of punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-a-major-unhappiness-a-prolonged-and-bitter-experience-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No important change in ethics was ever accomplished without an internal chage in our intellectual emphasis, loyalties, affections, and convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/no-important-change-in-ethics-was-ever-accomplished-without-an/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [“Your loyalties are indecisive at best. You know what that makes you, big boy?’ ‘Definitely a Gemini.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-m-farrugia/your-loyalties-are-indecisive-at-best-you-know-what-that-makes-you/) [Nathan M. Farrugia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-m-farrugia/) > [Always question where your loyalties lie. The people you trust will expect it, your greatest enemies will desire it and those you trust the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/always-question-where-your-loyalties-lie-the-people-you-trust-will/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [“Conservatism aims to maintain in working order the loyalties of the community to perceived truths and also to those truths which in their judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr-2/conservatism-aims-to-maintain-in-working-order-the-loyalties-of-the/) [William F. Buckley Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr-2/) ## 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 Character building quotes > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [People reveal themselves completely only when they are thrown out of the customary conditions of their life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/people-reveal-themselves-completely-only-when-they-are-thrown-out-of/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“The only measure of judging a human being is through that person’s character, because character is not determined by race, religion, gender or social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-only-measure-of-judging-a-human-being-is-through-that-person-s/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Never miss an opportunity to be truly and deeply humiliated! The shame will carve you down to an individual of exquisite layering, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/never-miss-an-opportunity-to-be-truly-and-deeply-humiliated-the-shame/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/character-contributes-to-beauty-it-fortifies-a-woman-as-her-youth/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [Depth and strength of a human character are defined by its moral reserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/depth-and-strength-of-a-human-character-are-defined-by-its-moral/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [“More than Captain America your kids need Amelia Earhart – more than Ant Man, they need Abraham Lincoln - more than Green Arrow they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/more-than-captain-america-your-kids-need-amelia-earhart-more-than-ant/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [It's been said that astronomy is a humbling and, I might add, a character-building experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-s-been-said-that-astronomy-is-a-humbling-and-i-might-add-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“A relationship built on lies and trickery will not last; only truthfulness can uphold a relationship”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idowu-koyenikan/a-relationship-built-on-lies-and-trickery-will-not-last-only/) [idowu koyenikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idowu-koyenikan/) > [Poverty's potential for character building is far overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/poverty-s-potential-for-character-building-is-far-overrated/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [Highly educated young people are tutored, taught and monitored in all aspects of their lives, except the most important, which is character building. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/highly-educated-young-people-are-tutored-taught-and-monitored-in-all/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Character building is one of my favourite things to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayvan-novak/character-building-is-one-of-my-favourite-things-to-do/) [Kayvan Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayvan-novak/) > [“The third gift is Courage. May you speak and act with confidence and use courage to follow your own path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlene-costanzo/the-third-gift-is-courage-may-you-speak-and-act-with-confidence-and/) [Charlene Costanzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlene-costanzo/) > [“Let your children nourish their knack, for that knack shall one day provide them with the way to live with dignity and contentment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/let-your-children-nourish-their-knack-for-that-knack-shall-one-day/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“A lot can be determined by the choices we make, even if the action is initiated by self-preservation. Many ... no, most ... of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/a-lot-can-be-determined-by-the-choices-we-make-even-if-the-action-is/) [Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/) [Browse all 143 Character building quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-building/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Human history can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. Initially our loyalties were to ourselves and our immediate family, next, to bands of wandering hunter-gatherers, then to tribes, small settlements, city-states, nations. We have broadened the circle of those we love. We have now organized what are modestly described as super-powers, which include groups of people from divergent ethnic and cultural backgrounds working in some sense together — surely a humanizing and character building experience. If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further, to include the whole human community, the entire planet Earth. Many of those who run the nations will find this idea unpleasant. 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