--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have decommissioned natural selection…" description: "\"We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.\" — E. O. Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/e-o-wilson-1348_become_we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection_1246581.png" --- # We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look… ![“We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.” quote by E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/e-o-wilson-1348_become_we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection_1246581.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/e-o-wilson-1348_become_we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection_1246581.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/e-o-wilson-1348_become_we-have-decommissioned-natural-selection_1246581.png) > “We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.” [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human destiny now depends on introspection rather than natural competition. **In simple terms:** Look inside to shape your future. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑knowledge. Themes evolution self‑discovery responsibility Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - leadership - education - policy making Key Concepts philosophy psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance inner reflection with external action? - What values guide our self‑determination? A Different Perspective Ignoring inner growth limits societal progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't take advice, The answers are all inside you, Think deep and decide what's best, Go forth and be happy, And don't take advice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-pasricha/don-t-take-advice-the-answers-are-all-inside-you-think-deep-and/) [Neil Pasricha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-pasricha/) > [Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission natural selection, the force that made us. Soon we must look deep within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/homo-sapiens-the-first-truly-free-species-is-about-to-decommission/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Evolution by natural selection is not an idle hypothesis. The genetic variation on which selection acts is well understood in principle all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/evolution-by-natural-selection-is-not-an-idle-hypothesis-the-genetic/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“Thus, as I believe, natural selection will tend in the long run to reduce any part of the organisation, as soon as it becomes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/thus-as-i-believe-natural-selection-will-tend-in-the-long-run-to/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-survival-or-preservation-of-certain-favoured-words-in-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Animals can adapt to problems and make inventions, but often no faster than natural selection can do its work - the world acts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/animals-can-adapt-to-problems-and-make-inventions-but-often-no-faster/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“The earliest form of natural selection was simply a selection of stable forms and a rejection of unstable ones. There is no mystery about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-earliest-form-of-natural-selection-was-simply-a-selection-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. In other words, I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-langan/i-believe-in-the-theory-of-evolution-but-i-believe-as-well-in-the/) [Christopher Langan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-langan/) > [. . . by natural selection our mind has adapted itself to the conditions of the external world. It has adopted the geometry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/by-natural-selection-our-mind-has-adapted-itself-to-the-conditions-of/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [The right to live does not connote the right of each man to reproduce his kind ... As we lessen the stringency of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-right-to-live-does-not-connote-the-right-of-each-man-to-reproduce/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) ## More by E. O. Wilson > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/without-a-trace-of-irony-i-can-say-i-have-been-blessed-with-brilliant/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It's always been a dream of mine, of exploring the living world, of classifying all the species and finding out what makes up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-always-been-a-dream-of-mine-of-exploring-the-living-world-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/competing-is-intense-among-humans-and-within-a-group-selfish/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-commitment-must-be-much-deeper-to-let-no-species-knowingly-die-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Science is not marginal. Like art, it is a universal possession of humanity, and scientific knowledge has become a vital part of our species'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/science-is-not-marginal-like-art-it-is-a-universal-possession-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The living environment is the biosphere, the thin layer around the world of living organisms. We're part of that. Our existence is dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-living-environment-is-the-biosphere-the-thin-layer-around-the/) [E. O. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-those-committed-to-the-quest-fail-they-will-be-forgiven-when-lost/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-extinctions-ongoing-worldwide-promise-to-be-at-least-as-great-as/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Most people are surprised when they hear my somber figures: we know of 2 million species of plants, animals and microorganisms, and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/most-people-are-surprised-when-they-hear-my-somber-figures-we-know-of/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Because the living environment is what really sustains us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/because-the-living-environment-is-what-really-sustains-us/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [The variety of genes on the planet in viruses exceeds, or is likely to exceed, that in all of the rest of life combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/the-variety-of-genes-on-the-planet-in-viruses-exceeds-or-is-likely-to/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) [Explore all 253 E. O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More Become quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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