The commitment must be much deeper - to let no species knowingly die; to take all reasonable action to protect every species and race in perpetuity. E. O. Wilson More Quotes by E. O. Wilson More Quotes From E. O. Wilson It was inspiring to learn of the new Bachelor of Environmental Studies Program, and I congratulate you for it. Singapore is geographically in the right central position for an influence in Asia and Australia, and NUS has the reputation and academic strength to make it effective. E. O. Wilson asia environmental australia We don't know nearly enough about the complexities of Nature. If we think we can eliminate natural ecosystems and substitute prosthetic devices, i.e. clean air or water with fusion energy - we are kidding ourselves. E. O. Wilson ecosystems air thinking Women are extraordinary in lacking the estrus, or period of heat. The females of most other primate species become sexually active, to the point of aggression, only at the time of ovulation. Why has sexual responsiveness become nearly continuous? Unusually frequent sexual activity between males and females served as the principle device for cementing the pair bond. E. O. Wilson pairs males principles Old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false. E. O. Wilson lds faith religion The genes hold culture on a leash. The leash is very long, but inevitably values will be constrained in accordance with their effects on the human gene pool. The brain is a product of evolution. Human behavior-like the deepest capacities for emotional respone which drive and guide it-is the circuitous technique by which human genetic material has been and will be kept intact. E. O. Wilson emotional science long I want us to save the creation-not just care about it, but to save it. E. O. Wilson creation care want The closer the genetic relationship of the family members, as for example father-to-son, as opposed to uncle-to-nephew, the higher the degree of cooperation. E. O. Wilson uncles father son Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals. Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms — if all solid materials except nematode worms were to be eliminated, you could still see the ghostly outline of most of it in nematode worms. E. O. Wilson motivation inspiration animal The great paradox of determinism and free will, which has held the attention of the wisest of philosophers and psychologists for generations, can be phrased in more biological terms as follows: If our genes are inherited, and our environment is a train of physical events set in motion before we were born, how can there be a truly independent agent within the brain? The agent itself is created by the interaction of the genes and the environment. It would appear that our freedom is only a self delusion. E. O. Wilson independent self brain No barrier stands between the material world of science and the sensibilities of the hunter and the poet. E. O. Wilson hunters poet world The extinctions ongoing worldwide promise to be at least as great as the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the age of dinosaurs. E. O. Wilson mass-extinction age promise 'The Creation' presents an argument for saving biological diversity on Earth. Most of the book is for as broad an audience as possible. E. O. Wilson diversity earth book True character arises from a deeper well than religion. It is the internalization of moral principles of a society, augmented by those tenets personally chosen by the individual, strong enough to endure through trials of solitude and adversity. The principles are fitted together into what we call integrity, literally the integrated self, wherein personal decisions feel good and true. Character is in turn the enduring source of virtue. It stands by itself and excites admiration in others. E. O. Wilson strong integrity character The human juggernaut is permanently eroding Earth's ancient biosphere. E. O. Wilson juggernaut ancient earth Common sense is merely unaided intuition, and unaided intuition is reasoning performed in the absense of instruments and the tested knowledge of science. Common sense tells us that massive satellites cannot hang suspended 36,000 kilometers above the one point on the earth's surface, but they do. E. O. Wilson common-sense intuition earth The work on ants has profoundly affected the way I think about humans. E. O. Wilson ants way thinking The ant world is a tumult, a noisy world of pheromones being passed back and forth. E. O. Wilson pheromones ants world That is the great mystery of human evolution: how to account for calculus and Mozart. E. O. Wilson calculus mystery evolution Progress, then, is a property of the evolution of life as a whole by almost any conceivable intuitive standard.... let us not pretend to deny in our philosophy what we know in our hearts to be true. E. O. Wilson progress heart philosophy People respect nonfiction but they read novels. E. O. Wilson nonfiction novel people
