E.O. Wilson

The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is terrifically dangerous, and it is now approaching a point of crisis overall.

The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us.

If all insects were to vanish, the environment as we know it would collapse. If humanity were to vanish, the environment would flourish.

The brain is a meat machine.

We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.

The world is a wonder, and it is a privilege to be alive to see it.

The love of complexity without reductionism makes for a flabby philosophy.

The only way to save the world is to save the pieces. Each piece, however small, is a treasure.

Humanity is a biological species, the product of a particular history of evolution.

The more we know, the more we are able to know.

Biodiversity is the greatest treasure we have. Its diminishment is to be prevented at all costs.

The greatest challenge facing humanity is the challenge of understanding itself.

Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.

We are a product of evolution, and our behavior is shaped by our genes and our environment.

The greatest enterprise of the mind has always been and always will be the attempted linkage of the sciences and the humanities.

The more we learn about the natural world, the more we are humbled by its complexity and beauty.

The future of life on Earth depends on our ability to understand and protect biodiversity.

The human mind is a product of evolution, and it is designed to solve problems that were relevant to our ancestors.

The greatest danger to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.

The urge to explore, to understand, to know, is one of the most powerful forces in human nature.