A Quote by Lewis Thomas

We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness is about as close to a 'common goal' of nature as I can guess at.

Lewis Thomas

Quote Topics

About Affection Close Common Common Goal Genes Goal Guess Language Life Manifestation Nature Spectacular Splendid Usefulness

Quote Author

Lewis Thomas
American - Scientist
November 25, 1913 - December 3, 1993

We are spectacular splendid manifestations of life. We have language. We have affection. And finally, and perhaps best of all, we have music.

Lewis Thomas

The object of all education should be to increase the usefulness of man - usefulness to himself and others.

Robert Green Ingersoll

When we human beings hypothesize that a law of nature holds - even temporarily or situationally - we are creating an idea, but we are also making a hypothesis about how nature behaves, whose truth or usefulness has nothing to do with what we know or believe.

Lee Smolin

Nature admits no hierarchy of beauty or usefulness or importance.

Stephen Fry

[I believe] that animals have a worth in and of themselves, and that they are not inferior to human beings but rather just different from us, and that they really don't exist for us nor do they belong to us...it should not be a question of how they should be treated within the context of their usefulness, or perceived usefulness, to us, but rather whether we have a right to use them at all.

Ingrid Newkirk

All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves...

Aristotle

Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God.

Oswald Chambers

The nature of an innovation is that it will arise at a fringe where it can afford to become prevalent enough to establish its usefulness without being overwhelmed by the inertia of the orthodox system.

Kevin Kelly

The most we can get out of life is its discipline for ourselves, and its usefulness for others.

Tryon Edwards

Very close cousins like humans and chimps have almost all their genes in common. Slightly less close cousins like humans and monkeys still have recognizably the same genes. You could carry on right on down to humans and bacteria, and you will find continuous compelling evidence for the hierarchical tree of cousinship.

Richard Dawkins

Let the intellect alone, it has its usefulness in its proper sphere, but let it not interfere with the flowing of the life-stream.

D.T. Suzuki

Obviously no language is innate. Take any kid from any race, bring them up in any culture and they will learn the language equally quickly. So no particular language is in the genes. But what might be in the genes is the ability to acquire language.

Steven Pinker

The sweetness of life lies in usefulness, like honey deep in the heart of a clover bloom.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

It is inevitable that those to whom is vouchsafed a long life of usefulness should outlive the friends of their youth.

Cleveland Abbe

My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of [razor-clam] shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make [a dress] out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin [O’Conner] came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really.