--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The life we have on Earth must have…" description: "\"The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg" --- # The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously… ![“The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the universe.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg) > “The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the universe.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life could arise spontaneously given the right conditions, implying extraterrestrial life is possible **In simple terms:** Life can start on its own, so it may exist elsewhere Key Takeaway Explore scientific evidence for abiogenesis Themes science existence universe Mood curious thoughtful Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - research discussions - education - public talks Key Concepts cosmology probability Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports spontaneous life? - What are the implications for humanity? A Different Perspective Evidence is indirect; alternative theories exist ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“Purpose of life is to generate more love, peace and harmony in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/purpose-of-life-is-to-generate-more-love-peace-and-harmony-in-the/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [Life on earth is hard. Competition for the necessities of life is fierce. How ridiculous to believe that the law of harsh survival would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-bear/life-on-earth-is-hard-competition-for-the-necessities-of-life-is/) [Greg Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-bear/) > [Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global nuclear war, a genetically engineered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/life-on-earth-is-at-the-ever-increasing-risk-of-being-wiped-out-by-a-2/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/life-on-earth-is-at-the-ever-increasing-risk-of-being-wiped-out-by-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I do think it's possible to go through life and never fall in love, or find someone who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-do-think-it-s-possible-to-go-through-life-and-never-fall-in-love-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The beauty and charm of selfless love and service should not die away from the face of this earth. The world should know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/the-beauty-and-charm-of-selfless-love-and-service-should-not-die-away/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [Looking out of the window at the infinite sky, I prayed out, 'Dear Baby Jesus, I am sorry for my sin, even though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/looking-out-of-the-window-at-the-infinite-sky-i-prayed-out-dear-baby/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) > [Only in the human form is it possible for life to attain its final goal, which is to realize the all-pervading and infinite Divinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meher-baba/only-in-the-human-form-is-it-possible-for-life-to-attain-its-final/) [Meher Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meher-baba/) > [I want work that, possessing as thin a membrane as possible between life and art, foregrounds the question of how the writer solves being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-want-work-that-possessing-as-thin-a-membrane-as-possible-between/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“On one hand, it's nice on the other side. Secrets don't exist. There's nothing to ignore, and no destiny. On the other hand, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-king/on-one-hand-it-s-nice-on-the-other-side-secrets-don-t-exist-there-s/) [A.S. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-king/) > [Love is possible as life is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/love-is-possible-as-life-is-possible/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [Everything is possible in this life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-is-possible-in-this-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“... freedom of choice is possible. Life is going to unfold however it does: pleasant or unpleasant, disappointing or thrilling, expected or unexpected, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-boorstein/freedom-of-choice-is-possible-life-is-going-to-unfold-however-it-does/) [Sylvia Boorstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-boorstein/) > [Politics may be the art of the possible, but at least in life, give the impossible a go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/politics-may-be-the-art-of-the-possible-but-at-least-in-life-give-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. For me this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-have-finally-found-something-that-doesn-t-have-a-cause-because/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [ \[On President Bush's plan to get to Mars in 10 years\] Stupid. Robots would do a better job and be much cheaper because you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/on-president-bush-s-plan-to-get-to-mars-in-10-years-stupid-robots/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-believe-the-simplest-explanation-is-there-is-no-god-no-one-created/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The Paralympic Games is about transforming our perception of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-paralympic-games-is-about-transforming-our-perception-of-the-world/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/most-sets-of-values-would-give-rise-to-universes-that-although-they/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. He reasoned that something invisible must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/empedocles-noticed-that-if-you-cover-the-neck-before-you-immerse-it-a/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-shouldn-t-have-all-its-eggs-in-one-basket-or-on-one/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I hope I have helped to raise the profile of science and to show that physics is not a mystery but can be understood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-hope-i-have-helped-to-raise-the-profile-of-science-and-to-show-that/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Explore all 601 Stephen Hawking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/) [Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [What did you do to save the world today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/what-did-you-do-to-save-the-world-today/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) [Browse all 15,455 Earth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life to generate spontaneously elsewhere in the universe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Hawking" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spontaneously-generated-itself-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Earth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spontaneously-generated-itself-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/442/stephen-hawking-389_earth_the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spon_1922095.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself. It must therefore be possible for life…” — Stephen Hawking", "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": "Stephen Hawking", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The life we have on Earth...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spontaneously-generated-itself-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-life-we-have-on-earth-must-have-spontaneously-generated-itself-it/#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 } } ] } ```