--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While our species continues to…" description: "\"“While our species continues to manufacture its radically different and untested all-human world, the rest of life should be allowed to endure, for our..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg" --- # While our species continues to manufacture its radically… ![“While our species continues to manufacture its radically different and untested all-human world, the rest of life should be allowed to endure, for our own safety. While preserving our own deep history, it will, if we choose to let it, continue on its own trajectory through evolutionary time. By…” quote by Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg) > ““While our species continues to manufacture its radically different and untested all-human world, the rest of life should be allowed to endure, for our own safety. While preserving our own deep history, it will, if we choose to let it, continue on its own trajectory through evolutionary time. By thus maintaining two parallel worlds on the planet, humanity will ensure the survival and continued advanced of the rest of life, and of ourselves.”” [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-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. Humanity should let non‑human life evolve independently while protecting its own heritage, creating parallel evolutionary paths for mutual survival. **In simple terms:** Protect nature while preserving human history. Key Takeaway Allow separate evolution for both. Themes environment evolution ethics future survival Mood thoughtful concerned optimistic Type philosophical environmental strategic When to use this quote - conservation policy - education curricula - urban planning - climate action - research funding Key Concepts biodiversity coexistence long‑term planning Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance technological growth with independent natural evolution? - What policies best support parallel evolutionary trajectories? A Different Perspective Balancing human progress with ecological autonomy is complex and may limit technological development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Rest of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rest-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [I get plenty of time to re-engage with the world I'm trying to depict, so I'm not always living in these parallel worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-jones/i-get-plenty-of-time-to-re-engage-with-the-world-i-m-trying-to-depict/) [Toby Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-jones/) > [Writers of all things speculative have played in alternate and parallel worlds for a long time - everyone from Stephen King to Philip Pullman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/writers-of-all-things-speculative-have-played-in-alternate-and/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [“Parallel worlds, right?" Aston nodded. "Our sci-fi writers love 'em." "They still do back home," Ludmilla assured him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weber/parallel-worlds-right-aston-nodded-our-sci-fi-writers-love-em-they/) [David Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weber/) > [“Some scientific specialists do not believe in parallel worlds; however many do endorse a multi-dimensinal multiverse with no planetary equivalents to Earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-alan-schweitzer/some-scientific-specialists-do-not-believe-in-parallel-worlds-however/) S. Alan Schweitzer > [“I believe that in the process of locating new avenues of creative thought, we will also arrive at an existential conservatism. It is worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/i-believe-that-in-the-process-of-locating-new-avenues-of-creative/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“The main shortcoming of humanistic scholarship is its extreme anthropocentrism. Nothing, it seems, matters in the creative arts and critical humanistic analyses except as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/the-main-shortcoming-of-humanistic-scholarship-is-its-extreme/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [Humanity is part of nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identify ourselves with the rest of life, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/humanity-is-part-of-nature-a-species-that-evolved-among-other-species/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Wake up you must, and step up you must, not should, but must, for only then, can an animal world be changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/wake-up-you-must-and-step-up-you-must-not-should-but-must-for-only/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Did I live? The human world is like a vast musical instrument on which we play our individual part while simultaneously listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/did-i-live-the-human-world-is-like-a-vast-musical-instrument-on-which/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [Trouble makes us one with every human being in the world - and unless we touch others, we're out of touch with life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trouble-makes-us-one-with-every-human-being-in-the-world-and-unless/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't wish to inhabit the human world under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-wish-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretences/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't want to inhabit the human world under false pretenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-want-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretenses/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [The human world is made of stories, not people. The people the stories use to tell themselves are not to be blamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-human-world-is-made-of-stories-not-people-the-people-the-stories/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The world, the human world, is bound together not by protons and electrons, but by stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/the-world-the-human-world-is-bound-together-not-by-protons-and/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) ## More by Edward O. Wilson > [“Nature is the birthright of everyone on Earth. The millions of species we have allowed to survive are our phylogenetic kin. Their long-term history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/nature-is-the-birthright-of-everyone-on-earth-the-millions-of-species/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Traditional religious beliefs have been eroded, not so much by humiliating disproofs of their mythologies as by the growing awareness that beliefs are really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/traditional-religious-beliefs-have-been-eroded-not-so-much-by/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [ “\[E\]very major religion today is a winner in the Darwinian struggle waged among cultures, and none ever flourished by tolerating its rivals.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/e-very-major-religion-today-is-a-winner-in-the-darwinian-struggle/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Overall, it seems now possible to draw a reasonably good explanation of why the human condition is a singularity, why the likes of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/overall-it-seems-now-possible-to-draw-a-reasonably-good-explanation/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“let’s also promote the humanities, that which makes us human, and not use science to mess around with the wellspring of this, the absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/let-s-also-promote-the-humanities-that-which-makes-us-human-and-not/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Moreover, we look in vain to philosophy for the answer to the great riddle. Despite its noble purpose and history, pure philosophy long ago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/moreover-we-look-in-vain-to-philosophy-for-the-answer-to-the-great/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Annie Dillard was a pioneer in her Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1974. Among other notable examples are David…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/annie-dillard-was-a-pioneer-in-her-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek-which-won/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“The creation myth is a Darwinian device for survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/the-creation-myth-is-a-darwinian-device-for-survival/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Human beings and their social orders are intrinsically imperfectible and fortunately so. In a constantly changing world, we need the flexibility that only imperfection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/human-beings-and-their-social-orders-are-intrinsically-imperfectible/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Another principle that I believe can be justified by scientific evidence so far is that nobody is going to emigrate from this planet not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/another-principle-that-i-believe-can-be-justified-by-scientific/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/to-explore-and-affiliate-with-life-is-a-deep-and-complicated-process/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Social intelligence was therefore always at a high premium. A sharp sense of empathy can make a huge difference, and with it in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/social-intelligence-was-therefore-always-at-a-high-premium-a-sharp/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Somewhere close I knew spear-nosed bats flew through the tree crowns in search of fruit, palm vipers coiled in ambush in the roots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/somewhere-close-i-knew-spear-nosed-bats-flew-through-the-tree-crowns/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Meat yields higher energy per gram eaten than does vegetation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/meat-yields-higher-energy-per-gram-eaten-than-does-vegetation/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) > [“Dawkins is an eloquent science journalist. What else is he? I mean journalism is a high and influential profession. But he’s not a scientist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/dawkins-is-an-eloquent-science-journalist-what-else-is-he-i-mean/) [Edward O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) [Explore all 56 Edward O. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/) ## More Humanity quotes > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) Gabriel Tarde > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Once the switch of parenthood is thrown, it changes you for ever & you can never escape the extra pull of humanity it gives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hammond/once-the-switch-of-parenthood-is-thrown-it-changes-you-for-ever-you/) [Richard hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hammond/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-not-lose-faith-in-humanity-humanity-is-like-an-ocean-if-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9,796 Humanity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“While our species continues to manufacture its radically different and untested all-human world, the rest of life should be allowed to endure, for our own safety. While preserving our own deep history, it will, if we choose to let it, continue on its own trajectory through evolutionary time. By thus maintaining two parallel worlds on the planet, humanity will ensure the survival and continued advanced of the rest of life, and of ourselves.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward O. Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/while-our-species-continues-to-manufacture-its-radically-different/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humanity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/while-our-species-continues-to-manufacture-its-radically-different/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d60/edward-o-wilson-12084_humanity_while-our-species-continues-to-manufactu_2548833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While our species continues to manufacture its radically different and untested all-human world, the rest of…” — Edward O. Wilson", "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": "Edward O. Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-o-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“While our species continues to manufacture...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/while-our-species-continues-to-manufacture-its-radically-different/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-o-wilson/while-our-species-continues-to-manufacture-its-radically-different/#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 } } ] } ```