Edward O. Wilson

The scientific method is the most effective tool ever devised for understanding the world.

The environment is the theater in which the genetic and cultural evolutionary plays are performed.

We are not in charge of this planet. We are simply a species that has been unusually successful in the game of life.

The most dangerous of all human traits is self-deception.

The natural world is the refuge of the spirit, remote, static, richer even than human imagination.

The goal of science is to discover the maximum amount of order in the world.

The great religions are the great survivors, the ones that out-competed the others in the struggle for cultural existence.

The human condition is an endless struggle between self-interest and altruism.

The extinction of species is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.

The brain is a product of evolution, not a miracle.

The essence of humanity's spiritual dilemma is that we evolved genetically to accept one truth and discovered another.

The ultimate goal of science is to understand the universe and our place in it.

The study of ants has taught me that everything in nature is connected.

The most wondrous of all things in the world, and the most mysterious, is the human mind.

The future of life on Earth depends on our ability to see ourselves as part of the web of life, not as its masters.

The great challenge of our time is to save the planet from ourselves.

The naturalist is a civilized hunter. He goes alone in search of knowledge, not trophies.

The bond between humans and nature is not just emotional; it is genetic.

The best way to teach a child about nature is to let him explore it with his own hands and eyes.

The history of life is a story of massive removal followed by differentiation within a few surviving stocks, not the gradual accumulation of improvements.