Lynn Margulis
A prominent evolutionary theorist who championed the endosymbiotic theory, explaining the origin of eukaryotic cells.
Most quoted
"Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step richer and subtler than our latest theory about it."
— from Essay
"Symbiosis is the driving force of evolution. It is the process by which different organisms come together to form new, more complex systems."
"Science is not just a collection of facts, but a way of understanding the world. It is a process of inquiry, discovery, and exploration."
All quotes by Lynn Margulis (395)
Life did not take over the world by combat, but by networking.
Evolution is no linear family tree, but a tangled bank of roots and stems, a thicket of vines and branches, all intertwined.
The world is not a collection of objects, but a network of processes.
Bacteria are the most successful organisms on Earth. They have been here for billions of years and will be here for billions more.
We are all symbionts. We are all made of other organisms.
The notion that life is a battle for survival is a myth. Life is a cooperative venture.
The greatest challenge to the Darwinian paradigm is the origin of the eukaryotic cell.
Evolution is not about competition, it's about cooperation.
The idea of a single tree of life is a metaphor that has outlived its usefulness.
Life is a planetary phenomenon, not just a local one.
The Gaia hypothesis is not a religion, it's a scientific hypothesis.
We are part of a larger system, a living planet.
The human species is a recent arrival on Earth, and we are still learning how to live here.
The greatest discovery of the 20th century was that life is a planetary phenomenon.
The idea of a 'selfish gene' is a misunderstanding of how life works.
Life is a continuous process of negotiation and integration.
The boundaries between species are not as clear-cut as we once thought.
The history of life is a history of symbiosis.
We are not separate from nature; we are nature.
The beauty of life is its interconnectedness.
Contemporaries of Lynn Margulis
Other Biologys born within 50 years of Lynn Margulis (1938–2011).