--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can understand, too, that natural…" description: "\"We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'\" — Levi Strauss" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg" --- # We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen… ![“We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'” quote by Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg) > “We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'” [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intelligence is valued over physical consumption in species selection. **In simple terms:** Thinking matters more than eating. Key Takeaway Prioritize mental development. Themes intelligence species valuation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - career planning - research - strategic decision making Key Concepts evolutionary biology anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does society reward intellect over practicality? - What balance should be struck? A Different Perspective May overlook physical needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Chosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen/) [Chosen Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen-good-315984/) [Eat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eat/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-think/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-species-531243/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Chosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-chosen-5731255/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too/) [Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand/) [Understand Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-natural-849374/) ## Related quotes > [The most powerful natural species are those that adapt to environmental change without losing their fundamental identity which gives them their competitive advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-most-powerful-natural-species-are-those-that-adapt-to/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We admit as many genera as there are different groups of natural species of which the fructification has the same structure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-linnaeus/we-admit-as-many-genera-as-there-are-different-groups-of-natural/) [Carl Linnaeus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-linnaeus/) > [Natural species are the library from which genetic engineers can work. Genetic engineers don't make new genes, they rearrange existing ones. Speaking as World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lovejoy/natural-species-are-the-library-from-which-genetic-engineers-can-work-2/) [Thomas Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lovejoy/) > [Natural species are the library from which genetic engineers can work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lovejoy/natural-species-are-the-library-from-which-genetic-engineers-can-work/) [Thomas Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lovejoy/) > [This is life we have chosen for the good or the bad. We make our own life choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/this-is-life-we-have-chosen-for-the-good-or-the-bad-we-make-our-own/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [“To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/to-be-loved-and-chosen-by-a-good-man-is-the-best-and-sweetest-thing-2/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-want-my-daughters-to-be-beautiful-accomplished-and-good-to-be-2/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman; and I sincerely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-m-alcott-2/to-be-loved-and-chosen-by-a-good-man-is-the-best-and-sweetest-thing/) [Louisa M Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-m-alcott-2/) > [“I have long since chosen him for my only good, my all; my pleasure, my happiness in this world as in the world to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-dallimore/i-have-long-since-chosen-him-for-my-only-good-my-all-my-pleasure-my/) [Arnold Dallimore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-dallimore/) > [Science's domain is the natural. If you want to understand the natural world and be sure you're not misleading yourself, science is the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/science-s-domain-is-the-natural-if-you-want-to-understand-the-natural/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [“The sea teaches the lesson every ecologist urges us to understand about the natural world: that it cares nothing for us, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-marsden/the-sea-teaches-the-lesson-every-ecologist-urges-us-to-understand/) [Philip Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-marsden/) > [“We shall never understand the natural environment until we see it as a living organism. Today you can murder land for private profit. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brooks/we-shall-never-understand-the-natural-environment-until-we-see-it-as-2/) [Paul Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brooks/) > [It is not enough to understand the natural world; the point is to defend and preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/it-is-not-enough-to-understand-the-natural-world-the-point-is-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The scientific process has two motives: one is to understand the natural world, the other is to control it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-snow/the-scientific-process-has-two-motives-one-is-to-understand-the/) [C.P. Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-snow/) > [Certainly in order to understand the natural world one needs clarity, logic, and the capacity for theory building. But that understanding tends to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/certainly-in-order-to-understand-the-natural-world-one-needs-clarity/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) ## More by Levi Strauss > [Gifts make slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/gifts-make-slaves/) [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) > [An expert knows all the answers - if you ask the right questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/an-expert-knows-all-the-answers-if-you-ask-the-right-questions/) [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) > [If the composer withholds more than we anticipate, we experience a delicious falling sensation; we feel we have been torn from a stable point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/if-the-composer-withholds-more-than-we-anticipate-we-experience-a/) [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) > [In the old days, people used to risk their lives in India or in the Americas in order to bring back products which now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/in-the-old-days-people-used-to-risk-their-lives-in-india-or-in-the-2/) [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) [Explore all 5 Levi Strauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I was contacted by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MP, through the Pune Film Institute and offered the post in the NFDC. I accepted it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-contacted-by-rajyavardhan-singh-rathore-mp-through-the-pune/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) [Browse all 15,485 Because quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they are 'good to think.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Levi Strauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/we-can-understand-too-that-natural-species-are-chosen-not-because/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Because" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/we-can-understand-too-that-natural-species-are-chosen-not-because/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/levi-strauss-63271_because_we-can-understand-too-that-natural-speci_3163888.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can understand, too, that natural species are chosen not because they are 'good to eat' but because they…” — Levi Strauss", "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": "Levi Strauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can understand, too, that natural...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/we-can-understand-too-that-natural-species-are-chosen-not-because/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/we-can-understand-too-that-natural-species-are-chosen-not-because/#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 } } ] } ```