E. O. Wilson

Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled my energies and drove me in new directions. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#been #blessed #brilliant #debt #directions

In 2010, my two Harvard mathematician colleagues and I dismantled kin-selection theory, which was the reigning theory of the origin of altruism at the time. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#colleagues #dismantled #harvard #i #mathematician

Individual versus group selection results in a mix of altruism and selfishness, of virtue and sin, among the members of a society. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#among #group #individual #members #mix

Political ideology can corrupt the mind, and science. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#ideology #mind #political #political ideology #science

All three of the Abrahamic religions were born and nurtured in arid, disturbed environments. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#born #disturbed #environments #nurtured #religions

We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#come #every #humanity #learn #means

It's always been a great survival value for people to believe they belong to a superior tribe. That's just in human relationships. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#been #believe #belong #great #human

It's like having astronomy without knowing where the stars are. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#having #knowing #like #stars #where

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. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#care #conquest #had #jehovah #loyalty

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. ↗

— E. O. Wilson

#among #beat #between #competing #contests