--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every living thing is, from the cosmic…" description: "\"“Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that have eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/daniel-c-dennett-17655_evolution_every-living-thing-is-from-the-cosmic-pe_2674379.jpg" --- # Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective… ![“Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that have ever lived have died without viable offspring, but not a single one of your ancestors, going back to the dawn of life on Earth, suffered that normal…” quote by Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/daniel-c-dennett-17655_evolution_every-living-thing-is-from-the-cosmic-pe_2674379.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/daniel-c-dennett-17655_evolution_every-living-thing-is-from-the-cosmic-pe_2674379.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40f/daniel-c-dennett-17655_evolution_every-living-thing-is-from-the-cosmic-pe_2674379.jpg) > ““Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that have ever lived have died without viable offspring, but not a single one of your ancestors, going back to the dawn of life on Earth, suffered that normal misfortune. You spring from an unbroken line of winners going back millions of generations, and those winners were, in every generation, the luckiest of the lucky, one out of a thousand or even a million. So however unlucky you may be on some occasion today, your presence on the planet testifies to the role luck has played in your past.”” [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the extraordinary luck of survival across evolutionary history. **In simple terms:** We are incredibly lucky to be alive. Key Takeaway Appreciate the rarity of existence. Themes evolution luck existence Mood wonderful humbling Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - personal reflection - science education - philosophical discourse Key Concepts probability anthropic principle Questions to Reflect On - How does this perspective affect your choices? - What responsibilities arise from such luck? A Different Perspective Luck does not guarantee future success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Generation Luckiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-luckiest-2529341/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-earth/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Role Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-luck-2529342/) ## Related quotes > [“(J)ust as we tend to underestimate the role of luck in life in general, we tend to overestimate it in games of chance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/j-ust-as-we-tend-to-underestimate-the-role-of-luck-in-life-in-general/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nothing-will-benefit-human-health-and-increase-the-chances-for/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For much of history it was possible to believe that the great diversity of life on Earth was a fixed creation, that the living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/for-much-of-history-it-was-possible-to-believe-that-the-great/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Life on earth is hard. Competition for the necessities of life is fierce. How ridiculous to believe that the law of harsh survival would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/life-on-earth-is-hard-competition-for-the-necessities-of-life-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [There have only been about a half dozen genuinely important events in the four-billion-year saga of life on Earth: single-celled life, multicelled life, differentiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/there-have-only-been-about-a-half-dozen-genuinely-important-events-in/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by disaster. ... I think the human race doesn't have a future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/life-on-earth-is-at-an-ever-increasing-risk-of-being-wiped-out-by/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [“Life on earth is a head-scratcher for anyone who's paying attention. This place has been a bad match for me since I was four.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/life-on-earth-is-a-head-scratcher-for-anyone-who-s-paying-attention/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Is there life on earth? Yes there is! Are there special molecules that create life on Earth that do not exist in the universe?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/is-there-life-on-earth-yes-there-is-are-there-special-molecules-that/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/you-were-created-to-add-to-life-on-earth-not-just-take-from-it-god/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [So how can we test the idea that the transition from nonlife to life is simple enough to happen repeatedly? The most obvious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/so-how-can-we-test-the-idea-that-the-transition-from-nonlife-to-life/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [“One life on this earth is all we get, whether it is enough or not enough, and the obvious conclusion would seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/one-life-on-this-earth-is-all-we-get-whether-it-is-enough-or-not/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Science reveals that all life on Earth is one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-reveals-that-all-life-on-earth-is-one/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [In two or three hundred years life on earth will be unimaginably beautiful, astounding. Man needs such a life and if it hasn't yetappeared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/in-two-or-three-hundred-years-life-on-earth-will-be-unimaginably/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [People are intimately bound up with the diversity of life on Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-advani/people-are-intimately-bound-up-with-the-diversity-of-life-on-earth/) [Nikhil Advani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-advani/) > [“No, my point is that life on earth can take of itself. In the thinking of a human being, a hundred years is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/no-my-point-is-that-life-on-earth-can-take-of-itself-in-the-thinking/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More by Daniel C. Dennett > [“It is not “scientism” to concede the objectivity and precision of good science, any more than it is history worship to concede that Napoleon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/it-is-not-scientism-to-concede-the-objectivity-and-precision-of-good/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Some years ago, there was a lovely philosopher of science and journalist in Italy named Giulio Giorello, and he did an interview with me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/some-years-ago-there-was-a-lovely-philosopher-of-science-and/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [ “I think we should stop treating \["God works in mysterious ways"\] as any kind of wisdom and recognize it as the transparently defensive propaganda… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/i-think-we-should-stop-treating-god-works-in-mysterious-ways-as-any/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Nobody ever became a famous philosopher by being a champion of ecumenical hybridism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/nobody-ever-became-a-famous-philosopher-by-being-a-champion-of/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“human beings are actually more closely related to the two species of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, the familiar chimp, and Pan paniscus, the rare, smaller…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/human-beings-are-actually-more-closely-related-to-the-two-species-of/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Is this Tree of Life a God one could worship? Pray to? Fear? Probably not. But it did make the ivy twine and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/is-this-tree-of-life-a-god-one-could-worship-pray-to-fear-probably/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“But if it is true that human minds are themselves to a very great degree the creations of memes, then we cannot sustain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/but-if-it-is-true-that-human-minds-are-themselves-to-a-very-great/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“prosaic, pedestrian example, but everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/prosaic-pedestrian-example-but-everything/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“This 'web of discourses' as Robyn called it...is as much a biological product as any of the other constructions to be found in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/this-web-of-discourses-as-robyn-called-it-is-as-much-a-biological/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“We can now expose perhaps the most common misunderstanding of Darwinism: the idea that Darwin showed that evolution by natural selection is a procedure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/we-can-now-expose-perhaps-the-most-common-misunderstanding-of/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Carpenters don’t make their saws and hammers, tailors don’t make their scissors and needles, and plumbers don’t make their wrenches, but blacksmiths can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/carpenters-don-t-make-their-saws-and-hammers-tailors-don-t-make-their/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“As I have often noted, a wagon with spoked wheels doesn’t just carry grain or freight from place to place; it carries the brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/as-i-have-often-noted-a-wagon-with-spoked-wheels-doesn-t-just-carry/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“Our fundamental tactic of self-protection, self-control, and self-definition is not spinning webs or building dams, but telling stories, and more particularly connecting and controlling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/our-fundamental-tactic-of-self-protection-self-control-and-self/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“There is a species of primate in South America more gregarious than most other mammals, with a curious behavior.The members of this species often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/there-is-a-species-of-primate-in-south-america-more-gregarious-than/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) > [“atheists and agnostics can have sacred values, values that are simply not up for re-evaluation at all. I have sacred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-c-dennett/atheists-and-agnostics-can-have-sacred-values-values-that-are-simply/) [Daniel C. Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) [Explore all 36 Daniel C. Dennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-c-dennett/) ## More Evolution quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) [Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/) > [“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/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/) [George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [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/) > [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideaki-sena/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [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/) > [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/) [Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/) [Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that have ever lived have died without viable offspring, but not a single one of your ancestors, going back to the dawn of life on Earth, suffered that normal misfortune. 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