E. O. Wilson quotes - page 5

Nationalism and racism, to take two examples, are the culturally nurtured outgrowths of simple tribalism. (E. O. Wilson)
Ancient Mexico, like most forest-invested New World tropics, was deficient in the kind of large game that flourished on the plains of Africa and Asia. ...The situation was partially relieved by cannibalizing the victims of human sacrifice. ...The [ Aztec ] priesthood... sanctified it... immediately after their hearts had been cut out, the victims were systematically butchered like animals and their parts distributed and eaten. View quote
E. O. Wilson
The fraction of Americans working in occupations concerned primarily with information has increased from 20 to nearly 50 percent of the work force. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Most kinds of aggressive behavior among members of the same species are responsive to crowding in the environment. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Few will doubt that humankind has created a planet-sized problem for itself. No one wished it so, but we are the first species to become a geophysical force, altering Earth's climate, a role previously reserved for tectonics, sun flares, and glacial cycles. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals. View quote
E. O. Wilson
If we were to wipe out insects alone on this planet, the rest of life and humanity with it would mostly disappear from the land. Within a few months. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Ants are the leading removers of dead creatures on the land. And the rest of life is substantially dependent upon them. View quote
E. O. Wilson
We ought to recognize that religious strife is not the consequence of differences among people. It's about conflicts between creation stories. View quote
E. O. Wilson
I tend to believe that religious dogma is a consequence of evolution. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Companies that are willing to share, to withhold in order to further the growth of the company, willing to try to get a better atmosphere through a demonstration of democratic principles, fairness and cooperation, a better product, those will win in the end. (E. O. Wilson)
The biological evolutionary perception of life and of human qualities is radically different from that of traditional religion, whether it's Southern Baptist or Islam or any religion that believes in a supernatural supervalance over humanity. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Jehovah had nothing to say to Moses and the others about the care of the planet. He had plenty to say about tribal loyalty and conquest. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Religious belief itself is an adaptation that has evolved because we're hard-wired to form tribalistic religions. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Religious beliefs evolved by group-selection, tribe competing against tribe, and the illogic of religions is not a weakness but their essential strength. View quote
E. O. Wilson
All three of the Abrahamic religions were born and nurtured in arid, disturbed environments. View quote
E. O. Wilson
We don't need to clear the 4 to 6 percent of the Earth's surface remaining in tropical rain forests, with most of the animal and plant species living there. View quote
E. O. Wilson
But I feel music has a very important role in ritual activity, and that being able to join in musical activity, along with dancing, could have been necessary at a very early stage of human culture. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Well, let me tell you, ants are the dominant insects. They make up as much as a quarter of the biomass of all insects in the world. They are the principal predators. They're the cemetery workers. View quote
E. O. Wilson
Ideas emerge when a part of the real or imagined world is studied for its own sake. View quote
E. O. Wilson
The two major challenges for the 21st century are to improve the economic situation of the majority and save as much of the planet as we can. (E. O. Wilson)
But once the ants and termites jumped the high barrier that prevents the vast variety of evolving animal groups from becoming fully social, they dominated the world. View quote
E. O. Wilson
In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems. View quote
E. O. Wilson
I was a senior in high school when I decided I wanted to work on ants as a career. I just fell in love with them, and have never regretted it. View quote
E. O. Wilson
I see no way out of the problems that organized religion and tribalism create other than humans just becoming more honest and fully aware of themselves. View quote
E. O. Wilson