--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when…" description: "\"It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western civilization, remarked, 'I think it would be a good idea.' That's how I feel about intelligent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/david-grinspoon-5141_earth_it-is-said-that-mahatma-gandhi-when-aske_2844628.jpg" --- # It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western… ![“It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western civilization, remarked, 'I think it would be a good idea.' That's how I feel about intelligent life on Earth, especially when I think about the question of what truly intelligent life might look like elsewhere in the universe.” quote by David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/david-grinspoon-5141_earth_it-is-said-that-mahatma-gandhi-when-aske_2844628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/david-grinspoon-5141_earth_it-is-said-that-mahatma-gandhi-when-aske_2844628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/david-grinspoon-5141_earth_it-is-said-that-mahatma-gandhi-when-aske_2844628.jpg) > “It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western civilization, remarked, 'I think it would be a good idea.' That's how I feel about intelligent life on Earth, especially when I think about the question of what truly intelligent life might look like elsewhere in the universe.” [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker uses sarcasm to express skepticism about the value of Western civilization and doubts about encountering truly intelligent extraterrestrials. **In simple terms:** Sarcastic doubt about civilization and alien intelligence. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about progress and intelligence. Themes skepticism civilization extraterrestrials Mood cynical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - debates on space exploration - philosophical discussions about progress - science communication Key Concepts cultural relativism anthropocentrism Questions to Reflect On - What defines true intelligence? - How do cultural biases shape our view of alien life? A Different Perspective May overlook genuine achievements of Western societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization Remarked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-remarked-3748960/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Feel Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-intelligent-2879165/) [Gandhi Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gandhi-asked-3748959/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Intelligent life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Western civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-civilization/) ## Related quotes > [“The Kingsford–Maitland view of Christianity appealed to Gandhi because it asked not for exaltation of a personal Saviour, but fidelity to one’s conscience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramachandra-guha/the-kingsford-maitland-view-of-christianity-appealed-to-gandhi/) [Ramachandra Guha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramachandra-guha/) > [Gandhi has asked that the British Government should walk out of India and leave the Indian people to settle differences among themselves, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stafford-cripps/gandhi-has-asked-that-the-british-government-should-walk-out-of-india/) [Stafford Cripps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stafford-cripps/) > [“you make me feel intelligent, especially when you talk”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-king/you-make-me-feel-intelligent-especially-when-you-talk/) [Bart King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-king/) > [The nice thing about really intelligent people is that when you talk with them they make you feel intelligent too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/the-nice-thing-about-really-intelligent-people-is-that-when-you-talk/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The New Yorker has always dealt with experience not by trying to understand it but by prescribing the attitude to be adopted toward it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-warshow/the-new-yorker-has-always-dealt-with-experience-not-by-trying-to/) [Robert Warshow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-warshow/) > [Among the radio astronomers of SETI - the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence - it's only sort-of a joke that the true hallmark of intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/among-the-radio-astronomers-of-seti-the-search-for-extraterrestrial/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [The question is not whether there is intelligent life out there, the question is, whether there is intelligent life down here. As long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/the-question-is-not-whether-there-is-intelligent-life-out-there-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Intelligent life on a planet comes of age when it first works out the reason for its own existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/intelligent-life-on-a-planet-comes-of-age-when-it-first-works-out-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I keep wondering if, say, there is intelligent life on other planets, the scientists argue that something like two percent of the other planets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/i-keep-wondering-if-say-there-is-intelligent-life-on-other-planets/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [A stunning survey of the latest evidence for intelligent life on Mars. Mac Tonnies brings a thoughtful, balanced and highly accessible approach to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-brennan/a-stunning-survey-of-the-latest-evidence-for-intelligent-life-on-mars/) [Herbie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-brennan/) > [If we ever established contact with intelligent life on another world, there would be barriers to communication. First, they would be many light years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/if-we-ever-established-contact-with-intelligent-life-on-another-world/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [ \[In the Universe it may be that\] Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare. Some would say it has yet… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-universe-it-may-be-that-primitive-life-is-very-common-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The higher you go in a company, the less oxygen there is, so supporting intelligent life becomes difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/the-higher-you-go-in-a-company-the-less-oxygen-there-is-so-supporting/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [As George Bernard Shaw observed: "All great truths begin as blasphemies." Yet I have to say, the idea that there is intelligent life elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/as-george-bernard-shaw-observed-all-great-truths-begin-as-blasphemies/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The hardware and the software used in the Breakthrough project will be compatible with other telescopes around the world, so they too can search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/the-hardware-and-the-software-used-in-the-breakthrough-project-will/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) ## More by David Grinspoon > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [If we gutted NASA Earth Science, it wouldn't be NOAA or some other agency that would take the lead. It would be the Chinese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/if-we-gutted-nasa-earth-science-it-wouldn-t-be-noaa-or-some-other/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [When you think about alien intelligences making art, you then have to think about what art is and how bound up it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/when-you-think-about-alien-intelligences-making-art-you-then-have-to/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [What if life is not carbon-based? Can life exist as a gas or a plasma? 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One of the quandaries of our field is that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/certainly-for-me-as-an-astrobiologist-science-fiction-has-played-an/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Time and time again, our species has escaped existential threats by reinventing ourselves, finding new skills not coded in our genes to survive new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/time-and-time-again-our-species-has-escaped-existential-threats-by/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [I think that an advanced planetary civilization will modify their own planets to be more stable, to prevent asteroid impacts and dangerous climate fluctuations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-that-an-advanced-planetary-civilization-will-modify-their-own/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Responsible global behaviour is ultimately an act of self-preservation of, by, and for the global beast that modern technological humanity has become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/responsible-global-behaviour-is-ultimately-an-act-of-self/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Venus and Mars are our next of kin: they are the two most Earth-like planets that we know about. 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