--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What distinguishes our species is…" description: "\"What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is in a way a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited beha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/carl-sagan-160_adults_what-distinguishes-our-species-is-though_2853817.jpg" --- # What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral… ![“What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is in a way a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons: territoriality and aggression and dominance hierarchies. We are each of us largely responsible for what gets…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/carl-sagan-160_adults_what-distinguishes-our-species-is-though_2853817.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/carl-sagan-160_adults_what-distinguishes-our-species-is-though_2853817.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e37/carl-sagan-160_adults_what-distinguishes-our-species-is-though_2853817.jpg) > “What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is in a way a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons: territoriality and aggression and dominance hierarchies. We are each of us largely responsible for what gets put in to our brains. For what as adults we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain we can change ourselves. Think of the possibilities.” [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 thought frees us from animal instincts, allowing conscious control over behavior and the ability to reshape our minds and societies. **In simple terms:** Thought liberates us from instinct. Key Takeaway Cultivate conscious thinking to overcome base impulses. Themes cognition freedom evolution responsibility Mood inspired optimistic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education reform - personal development - conflict resolution - policy making Key Concepts neuroscience philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you train your brain for better choices? - What societal changes support conscious evolution? A Different Perspective Biological drives can still dominate despite conscious effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Aggression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aggression/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Behavior patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior-patterns/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Mercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Reptiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reptiles/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vastness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vastness/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [“The brain does much more than recollect. It compares, synthesizes, analyzes, generates abstractions. We must figure out much more than our genes can know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-brain-does-much-more-than-recollect-it-compares-synthesizes/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “Leonard Mlodinow, in his excellent book Subliminal, writes, “We usually assume that what distinguishes us \[from other species\] is IQ. But it is our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/leonard-mlodinow-in-his-excellent-book-subliminal-writes-we-usually/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [There is no other species on Earth that does science. It is, so far, entirely a human invention, evolved by natural selection in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/there-is-no-other-species-on-earth-that-does-science-it-is-so-far/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Civilization is a product of the cerebral cortex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/civilization-is-a-product-of-the-cerebral-cortex/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Man with the great M is only an ideal, the species only something thought of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-stirner/man-with-the-great-m-is-only-an-ideal-the-species-only-something/) [Max Stirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-stirner/) > [“Sometimes I wonder if there's things we'll never explain. You know, like, you know, what if we did answer all the questions? You know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-caboose/sometimes-i-wonder-if-there-s-things-we-ll-never-explain-you-know/) Michael J Caboose > [“{ On to contributions to evolutionary biology of 18th century French scientist, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon } He was not an evolutionary biologist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/on-to-contributions-to-evolutionary-biology-of-18th-century-french/) [Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/) > [“Memories of a pleasurable event are stored in the cerebral cortex so we won’t forget them. It may sound strange, but in a way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/memories-of-a-pleasurable-event-are-stored-in-the-cerebral-cortex-so/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [I am delighted that I have found a new reaction to demonstrate even to the blind the structure of the interstitial stroma of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camillo-golgi/i-am-delighted-that-i-have-found-a-new-reaction-to-demonstrate-even/) Camillo Golgi > [The Blue Brain project expects to have a full human-scale simulation of the cerebral cortex by 2018. I think that's a little optimistic, actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-blue-brain-project-expects-to-have-a-full-human-scale-simulation/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [Along with our many human propensities, we evolved a huge cerebral cortex with which we make decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/along-with-our-many-human-propensities-we-evolved-a-huge-cerebral/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [“When I was cooking I enjoyed a sense of being ‘out’ of myself. The action of dicing vegetables and warming oil made my hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/when-i-was-cooking-i-enjoyed-a-sense-of-being-out-of-myself-the/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [There is one brain organ that is optimised for understanding and articulating logical processes and that is the outer layer of the brain, called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/there-is-one-brain-organ-that-is-optimised-for-understanding-and/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [“The minds of others are stranger depths to employ our hearts to than our own wonderland of cerebral cortex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-varnadore/the-minds-of-others-are-stranger-depths-to-employ-our-hearts-to-than/) [Jennifer Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-varnadore/) > [“the cerebral cortex that has grown enormously over the last few millennia, overshadowing the ancient, instinctive lower brain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-cerebral-cortex-that-has-grown-enormously-over-the-last-few/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) ## 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 Adults quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society . . . but for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/education-for-most-people-means-trying-to-lead-the-child-to-resemble/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance”: “The differences between expert performers and normal adults are not immutable, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-anders-ericsson/the-role-of-deliberate-practice-in-the-acquisition-of-expert/) K. Anders Ericsson > [Part of life is doing stuff that you don't want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/one-who-does-not-wish-to-be-named/part-of-life-is-doing-stuff-that-you-don-t-want-to-do/) One Who Does Not Wish To Be Named > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [On the one hand, we had great filmic spectacles that brought in big audiences, adults as well as primary and secondary school students. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-wajda/on-the-one-hand-we-had-great-filmic-spectacles-that-brought-in-big/) [Andrzej Wajda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-wajda/) > [It's hard to change adults, and it's hard to change it from a political position or a perceived political position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/it-s-hard-to-change-adults-and-it-s-hard-to-change-it-from-a/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [When I was a child at sixteen, I was just a child. All sixteen year-olds are just children. As much as we like them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/when-i-was-a-child-at-sixteen-i-was-just-a-child-all-sixteen-year/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) [Browse all 3,113 Adults quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What distinguishes our species is thought. The cerebral cortex is in a way a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited behavior patterns of lizards and baboons: territoriality and aggression and dominance hierarchies. We are each of us largely responsible for what gets put in to our brains. For what as adults we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain we can change ourselves. 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