--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An Individual, whatever species it might…" description: "\"An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the only ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de_animals_an-individual-whatever-species-it-might_653017.jpg" --- # An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in… ![“An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the only creatures of Nature, perpetual creatures, as old and as permanent as it. In order to judge it better, we no longer consider the species as a…” quote by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de_animals_an-individual-whatever-species-it-might_653017.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de_animals_an-individual-whatever-species-it-might_653017.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/312/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de_animals_an-individual-whatever-species-it-might_653017.jpg) > “An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the only creatures of Nature, perpetual creatures, as old and as permanent as it. In order to judge it better, we no longer consider the species as a collection or as a series of similar individuals, but as a whole independent of number, independent of time, a whole always living, always the same, a whole which has been counted as one in the works of creation, and which, as a consequence, makes only a unity in Nature.” [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual organisms are insignificant alone; only the species as a whole holds lasting significance in nature. **In simple terms:** Species matter more than single individuals Key Takeaway Recognize the collective importance of species over isolated beings. Themes species collective nature unity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - conservation - education - environmental policy - scientific research Key Concepts ecology philosophy holism Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing nature as a whole change our actions? - What responsibilities arise from seeing species as unified? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on individuals can overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Collections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collections/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Consider Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consider-species-2856788/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-species-366287/) [Individuals Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-species-1115470/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Permanent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanent/) [Perpetual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-universe-4207762/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unity/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-it-s-true-that-our-species-is-alone-in-the-universe-then-i-d-have/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Consider the species known as man. We lie, we cheat, we want what others have and take it; we make war upon each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/consider-the-species-known-as-man-we-lie-we-cheat-we-want-what-others-2/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“Consider the species known as man. We lie, we cheat, we want what others have and take it; we make war upon each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/consider-the-species-known-as-man-we-lie-we-cheat-we-want-what-others/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [Each individual is a species unto him/herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/each-individual-is-a-species-unto-him-herself/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [I describe not men, but manners; not an individual, but a species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/i-describe-not-men-but-manners-not-an-individual-but-a-species/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [All forests have their own personality. I don't just mean the obvious differences, like how an English woodland is different from a Central American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/all-forests-have-their-own-personality-i-don-t-just-mean-the-obvious/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [Nature is a collective idea, and, though its essence exist in each individual of the species, can never in its perfection inhabit a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/nature-is-a-collective-idea-and-though-its-essence-exist-in-each/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [“It seems as if, in making a marriage, either the individual or the interest of the species must come off badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-seems-as-if-in-making-a-marriage-either-the-individual-or-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Mr. Darwin refers to the multitude of the individual of every species, which, from one cause or another, perish either before, or soon after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/mr-darwin-refers-to-the-multitude-of-the-individual-of-every-species/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/owing-to-this-struggle-for-life-any-variation-however-slight-and-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Not only does every animal live at the expense of some other animal or plant, but thevery plants are at war… The individuals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-only-does-every-animal-live-at-the-expense-of-some-other-animal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Extinction' issue. Save the species for whom??? Humans' convenience, of course! Individuals of the species are snatched from their homes/family/habitat/held in captivity/forced to mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-popescu/extinction-issue-save-the-species-for-whom-humans-convenience-of/) [Adela Popescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-popescu/) > [As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/as-many-more-individuals-of-each-species-are-born-than-can-possibly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [No known human group... simply throw out its dead without any ritual or ceremony. In stark contrast, no animal practices burial of dead individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodosius-dobzhansky/no-known-human-group-simply-throw-out-its-dead-without-any-ritual-or/) [Theodosius Dobzhansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodosius-dobzhansky/) > [That the variability of an organism to a certain extent is a constant and certain condition of life we admit, otherwise there would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/that-the-variability-of-an-organism-to-a-certain-extent-is-a-constant/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) ## More by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon > [To write well is to think well, to feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/to-write-well-is-to-think-well-to-feel-well-and-to-render-well-it-is/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [The discoveries that one can make with the microscope amount to very little, for one sees with the mind's eye and without the microscope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/the-discoveries-that-one-can-make-with-the-microscope-amount-to-very/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [In general, the more one augments the number of divisions of the productions of nature, the more one approaches the truth, since in nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/in-general-the-more-one-augments-the-number-of-divisions-of-the/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Style supposes the reunion and the exercise of all the intellectual faculties. The style is the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/style-supposes-the-reunion-and-the-exercise-of-all-the-intellectual/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Let us investigate more closely this property common to animal and plant, this power of producing its likeness, this chain of successive existences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/let-us-investigate-more-closely-this-property-common-to-animal-and/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [The dog has no ambition, no self-interest, no desire for vengeance, no fear other than that of displeasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/the-dog-has-no-ambition-no-self-interest-no-desire-for-vengeance-no/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [The human mind cannot create anything. It produces nothing until having been fertilized by experience and meditation; its acquisitions are the germs of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/the-human-mind-cannot-create-anything-it-produces-nothing-until/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Although the works of the Creator may be in themselves all equally perfect, the animal is, as I see it, the most complete work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/although-the-works-of-the-creator-may-be-in-themselves-all-equally/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [To be and to think are one and the same for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/to-be-and-to-think-are-one-and-the-same-for-us/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [There are several kinds of truths, and it is customary to place in the first order mathematical truths, which are, however, only truths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/there-are-several-kinds-of-truths-and-it-is-customary-to-place-in-the/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [The greatest marvel is not in the individual. It is in the succession, in the renewal and in the duration of the species that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/the-greatest-marvel-is-not-in-the-individual-it-is-in-the-succession/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Those who write as they speak, even though they speak well, write badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/those-who-write-as-they-speak-even-though-they-speak-well-write-badly/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [There is nothing good in love but the physical part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/there-is-nothing-good-in-love-but-the-physical-part/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Only those works which are well-written will pass to posterity: the amount of knowledge, the uniqueness of the facts, even the novelty of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/only-those-works-which-are-well-written-will-pass-to-posterity-the/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [As historians, we refuse to allow ourselves these vain speculations which turn on possibilities that, in order to be reduced to actuality, suppose an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/as-historians-we-refuse-to-allow-ourselves-these-vain-speculations/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) [Explore all 31 Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the only creatures of Nature, perpetual creatures, as old and as permanent as it. 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