---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater the scientific advance, the…"
description: "\"The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear.\" — Don DeLillo"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg"
---

#  The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the…

![“The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg)

> “The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear.”

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Scientific progress often heightens primitive fears, showing that knowledge can amplify anxiety about the unknown.

**In simple terms:** Advances can increase fear.

Key Takeaway

Recognize fear as a sign of growth.

Themes

science fear progress human nature

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

philosophical critical

When to use this quote

- new tech adoption
- medical breakthroughs
- environmental threats

Key Concepts

psychology existential risk technology anxiety

Questions to Reflect On

- What fears arise with each new discovery?
- How can we channel fear constructively?

A Different Perspective

Fear may paralyze action if unchecked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/)

## Related quotes

> [There's a connection between the advances that are made in technology and the sense of primitive fear people develop in response to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-s-a-connection-between-the-advances-that-are-made-in-technology/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [Grief doesn't necessarily make you noble. Sometimes it just makes you crazy, or primitive with fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/grief-doesn-t-necessarily-make-you-noble-sometimes-it-just-makes-you/)

[Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/)

> [ \[Social\] science fiction is that branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance on human beings. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/social-science-fiction-is-that-branch-of-literature-which-is/)

[Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/)

> [Ever since the beginning of modern science, the best minds have recognized that "the range of acknowledged ignorance will grow with the advance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/ever-since-the-beginning-of-modern-science-the-best-minds-have/)

[Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/)

> [The cost of scientific advance is the humbling recognition that reality was not constructed to be easily grasped by the human mind. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-cost-of-scientific-advance-is-the-humbling-recognition-that/)

[E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/)

> [“What was the point of scientific advance without moral advance? The railway would merely permit more people to move about, meet and be stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/what-was-the-point-of-scientific-advance-without-moral-advance-the/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [There is, however, no universal recipe for scientific advance. It is a matter of groping forward into terra incognita of the outer world by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/there-is-however-no-universal-recipe-for-scientific-advance-it-is-a/)

[Reinout Willem van Bemmelen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinout-willem-van-bemmelen/)

> [The genius of the primitive mind is that it can render human helplessness in noble and beautiful ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-genius-of-the-primitive-mind-is-that-it-can-render-human/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/far-out-in-the-uncharted-backwaters-of-the-unfashionable-end-of-the/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [A contemporary artist can use the findings of all epochs and all styles, from the most primitive literary expressions up to the most refined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-goytisolo/a-contemporary-artist-can-use-the-findings-of-all-epochs-and-all/)

[Juan Goytisolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-goytisolo/)

> [I see film as a real opportunity to examine the human condition. No matter where the technology goes in the future, the basics don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schultz/i-see-film-as-a-real-opportunity-to-examine-the-human-condition-no/)

[Michael Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schultz/)

> [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. And yes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/recently-a-study-proved-that-working-from-a-larger-less-cluttered/)

[Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/)

> [Mine was, as it were, the connecting link between wild and cultivated fields; as some states are civilized, and others half-civilized, and others savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/mine-was-as-it-were-the-connecting-link-between-wild-and-cultivated/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/)

[John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/)

> [Life on a small farm might seem primitive, but by living such a life we become able to discover the Great Path. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masanobu-fukuoka/life-on-a-small-farm-might-seem-primitive-but-by-living-such-a-life/)

[Masanobu Fukuoka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masanobu-fukuoka/)

## More by Don DeLillo

> [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [Everything is barely weeks. Everything is days. We have minutes to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/everything-is-barely-weeks-everything-is-days-we-have-minutes-to-live/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“As I listened I thought a featureless baggy man was striking me in slow motion with a well-polished stone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/as-i-listened-i-thought-a-featureless-baggy-man-was-striking-me-in/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Murray said, 'I don't trust anybody's nostalgia but my own. Nostalgia is a product of dissatisfaction and rage. It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. Maybe this is why we know so little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/marriage-is-something-we-make-from-available-materials-in-this-sense/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [The true life is not reducible to words spoken or written, not by anyone, ever. The true life takes place when we're alone, thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-true-life-is-not-reducible-to-words-spoken-or-written-not-by/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

[Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

## More Fear quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/)

[Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/)

> [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/)

[M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/)

> [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/)

Nagisa Tatsumi

> [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/)

[Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/)

[Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/)

[Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/)

> [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/)

[Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/)

> [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/)

[Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

[Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Don DeLillo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-more-primitive-the-fear/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fear"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-more-primitive-the-fear/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/882/don-delillo-294_fear_the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-m_1795229.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The greater the scientific advance, the more primitive the fear.” — Don DeLillo",
                "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": "Don DeLillo",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The greater the scientific advance, the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-more-primitive-the-fear/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-greater-the-scientific-advance-the-more-primitive-the-fear/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
