--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The hierarchy of relations, from the…" description: "\"The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and ecological whole, will perhaps be the leading ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg" --- # The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure… ![“The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and ecological whole, will perhaps be the leading idea of the future.” quote by Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg) > “The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and ecological whole, will perhaps be the leading idea of the future.” [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding relationships from atomic to ecological scales may shape future scientific thought. **In simple terms:** Relationships across scales matter. Key Takeaway Study connections across levels. Themes systems thinking interconnectedness science future thinking Mood curious inspired Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research planning - environmental policy - education curricula Key Concepts complexity theory ecology chemistry Questions to Reflect On - What cross‑scale patterns do you see? - How can we teach systemic thinking? A Different Perspective Complex systems are hard to simplify into single causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Equilibrium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equilibrium/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The re-establishment of an ecological balance depends on the ability of society to counteract the progressive materialization of values. 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And, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-thunburg/i-think-that-once-you-fully-understand-the-climate-and-ecological/) [Greta Thunburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-thunburg/) > [Birds are an ecological litmus paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/birds-are-an-ecological-litmus-paper/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [Life and families and babies are all joyous gifts. But if we do not begin to truly account for our numbers, we will surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-alexander/life-and-families-and-babies-are-all-joyous-gifts-but-if-we-do-not/) [Jason Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-alexander/) ## More by Joseph Needham > [The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-dogs-may-bark-but-the-caravan-moves-on/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [Although there is a very large literature, still growing almost daily, on the Chinese calendar, its interest is, we suggest, much more archaeological and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/although-there-is-a-very-large-literature-still-growing-almost-daily/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [But Chinese civilization has the overpowering beauty of the wholly other, and only the wholly other can inspire the deepest love and the profoundest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/but-chinese-civilization-has-the-overpowering-beauty-of-the-wholly/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [Daoist thought is the root of science and technology in China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/daoist-thought-is-the-root-of-science-and-technology-in-china/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [But nothing ever put 'Hoppy' in the shade. No one could fail to recognize in the little figure... the authentic gold of intellectual inspiration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/but-nothing-ever-put-hoppy-in-the-shade-no-one-could-fail-to/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [To put it in a nutshell, the Central and South American high cultures of antiquity were entirely worthy of comparison with what the Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/to-put-it-in-a-nutshell-the-central-and-south-american-high-cultures/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) [Explore all 7 Joseph Needham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) Peter Dilger > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) Marc Morano > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and ecological whole, will perhaps be the leading idea of the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Needham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-molecular-structure-of-carbon-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-molecular-structure-of-carbon-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b2/joseph-needham-50020_carbon_the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-mole_1691211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The hierarchy of relations, from the molecular structure of carbon to the equilibrium of the species and…” — Joseph Needham", "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": "Joseph Needham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The hierarchy of relations, from the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-molecular-structure-of-carbon-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-hierarchy-of-relations-from-the-molecular-structure-of-carbon-to/#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 } } ] } ```