--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should therefore, with grace and…" description: "\"“We should therefore, with grace and optimism, embrace NOMA's tough-minded demand: Acknowledge the personal character of these human struggles about mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7f/stephen-jay-gould-885_nature_we-should-therefore-with-grace-and-optim_1655489.jpg" --- # We should therefore, with grace and optimism, embrace… ![“We should therefore, with grace and optimism, embrace NOMA's tough-minded demand: Acknowledge the personal character of these human struggles about morals and meanings, and stop looking for definite answers in nature's construction. But many people cannot bear to surrender nature as a…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7f/stephen-jay-gould-885_nature_we-should-therefore-with-grace-and-optim_1655489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7f/stephen-jay-gould-885_nature_we-should-therefore-with-grace-and-optim_1655489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7f/stephen-jay-gould-885_nature_we-should-therefore-with-grace-and-optim_1655489.jpg) > ““We should therefore, with grace and optimism, embrace NOMA's tough-minded demand: Acknowledge the personal character of these human struggles about morals and meanings, and stop looking for definite answers in nature's construction. But many people cannot bear to surrender nature as a "transitional object"--a baby's warm blanket for adult comfort. But when we do (for we must), nature can finally emerge in her true form: not as a distorted mirror of our needs, but as our most fascinating companion. Only then can we unite the patches built by our separate magisteria into a beautiful and coherent quilt called wisdom.”” [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges acceptance of nature’s complexity without forcing it into comforting narratives, suggesting that true wisdom comes from integrating diverse perspectives. **In simple terms:** Accept nature’s complexity and integrate different viewpoints. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity, seek integration. Themes philosophy science wisdom Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - interdisciplinary research - ethical decision making - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts integration complexity magisteria transcendence Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance comfort with confronting complexity? - What steps help integrate varied perspectives? A Different Perspective Nature cannot be simplified to fit personal comfort; integration may be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Personal character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-character/) ## Related quotes > [Transitional forms are generally lacking at the species level, but they are abundant between larger groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/transitional-forms-are-generally-lacking-at-the-species-level-but/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [“I have an affection for those transitional seasons, the way they take the edge off the intense cold of winter, or heat of summer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/i-have-an-affection-for-those-transitional-seasons-the-way-they-take/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth evolution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/man-is-a-transitional-being-he-is-not-final-the-step-from-man-to/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [There are transitional forms between the metals and non-metals; between chemical combinations and simple mixtures, between animals and plants, between phanerogams and cryptogams, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/there-are-transitional-forms-between-the-metals-and-non-metals/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [From the very nature of progress, all ages must be transitional. If they were not, the world would be at a stand-still and death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/from-the-very-nature-of-progress-all-ages-must-be-transitional-if/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [The transitional period was tough, I won't kid you. You go from a certain family dynamic to adjusting to a completely new one. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-air/the-transitional-period-was-tough-i-won-t-kid-you-you-go-from-a/) [Donna Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-air/) > [Man is a transitional animal. He is not the climax of creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/man-is-a-transitional-animal-he-is-not-the-climax-of-creation/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I don't see myself as having made the transition. I aim to be more transient than transitional. Life is constantly changing, now at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-forster/i-don-t-see-myself-as-having-made-the-transition-i-aim-to-be-more/) [Marc Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-forster/) > [The transitional concept of management is reaching the end of the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martin-hammer/the-transitional-concept-of-management-is-reaching-the-end-of-the-road/) [Michael Martin Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-martin-hammer/) > [As a dancer, you learn the importance of transitional moments. If you figure out what you can do next, that's how you don't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/as-a-dancer-you-learn-the-importance-of-transitional-moments-if-you/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [We made certain that there were decent transitional arrangements to get us to where we wanted to go. The same principle will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-anderson/we-made-certain-that-there-were-decent-transitional-arrangements-to/) [John Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-anderson/) > [No, I don't play for a side who have transitional seasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-verratti/no-i-don-t-play-for-a-side-who-have-transitional-seasons/) [Marco Verratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-verratti/) > [“At liminality, at a transitional point between his last night dream and reality, he realizes he has made a big mistake and happiness is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-biuts/at-liminality-at-a-transitional-point-between-his-last-night-dream/) [Lara Biuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-biuts/) > [“Sometimes transitional periods in life leave you feeling like a great big jumble of loose, split ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-l-bates/sometimes-transitional-periods-in-life-leave-you-feeling-like-a-great/) [Brandi L. Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-l-bates/) > [Moving from a first to a second album is an incredibly transitional time for any band because you never get to make one in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mayberry/moving-from-a-first-to-a-second-album-is-an-incredibly-transitional/) [Lauren Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mayberry/) ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Explore all 341 Stephen Jay Gould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ## More Nature quotes > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“She was, he knew- and had known very early, he supposed- one of those rare and always lovely humans whose moral nature was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/she-was-he-knew-and-had-known-very-early-he-supposed-one-of-those/) [John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/) > [“When the water covers the earth the sun will vanish the darkess and the cold will come.When the last dragon and the last Elf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvana-de-mari/when-the-water-covers-the-earth-the-sun-will-vanish-the-darkess-and/) [Silvana de Mari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvana-de-mari/) > [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/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [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/) [Browse all 47,383 Nature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We should therefore, with grace and optimism, embrace NOMA's tough-minded demand: Acknowledge the personal character of these human struggles about morals and meanings, and stop looking for definite answers in nature's construction. 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