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Species Quotes

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Species Quotes

“We did not make ourselves, nor did we fashion a world that could not work without pain, and great pain at that, with a little pleasure, very little, to string us along--a world where all organisms are inexorably pushed by pain throughout their lives to do that which will improve their chances to survive and create more of themselves. Left unchecked, this process will last as long as a single cell remains palpitating in this cesspool of the solar system, this toilet of the galaxy. So why not lend a hand in nature's suicide? For want of a deity that could be held to account for a world in which there is terrible pain, let nature take the blame for our troubles. We did not create an environment uncongenial to our species, nature did. One would think that nature was trying to kill us off, or get us to suicide ourselves once the blunder of consciousness came upon us. What was nature thinking? We tried to anthropomorphize it, to romanticize it, to let it into our hearts. But nature kept its distance, leaving us to our own devices. So be it. Survival is a two-way street. Once we settle ourselves off-world, we can blow up this planet from outer space. It's the only way to be sure its stench will not follow us. Let it save itself if it can--the condemned are known for the acrobatics they will execute to wriggle out of their sentences. But if it cannot destroy what it has made, and what could possibly unmake it, then may it perish along with every other living thing it has introduced to pain.”

WorldPainNaturePleasureConsciousnessEnvironmentSurvivalBlameSuicideSpeciesOrganismsGalaxySurviveOuter SpaceSolar SystemDeityCondemnedCesspool
Book:The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
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“If human pleasure did not have both a lid and a time limit, we would not bestir ourselves to do things that were not pleasurable, such as toiling for our subsistence. And then we would not survive. By the same token, should our mass mind ever become discontented with the restricted pleasures doled out by nature, as well as disgruntled over the lack of restrictions on pain, we would omit the mandates of survival from our lives out of a stratospherically acerbic indignation. And then we would not reproduce. As a species, we do not shout into the sky, “The pleasures of this world are not enough for us.” In fact, they are just enough to drive us on like oxen pulling a cart full of our calves, which in their turn will put on the yoke. As inordinately evolved beings, though, we can postulate that it will not always be this way. “A time will come,” we say to ourselves, “when we will unmake this world in which we are battered between long burden and brief delight, and will live in pleasure for all our days.” The belief in the possibility of long-lasting, high-flown pleasures is a deceptive but adaptive flimflam. It seems that nature did not make us to feel too good for too long, which would be no good for the survival of the species, but only to feel good enough for long enough to keep us from complaining that we do not feel good all the time.”

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Book:The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
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“We are irrational in our species-​specific devotions. I know a man who won’t eat octopus because of its intelligence. Yet he eats pork and buys glue traps for rats, though rats and pigs are highly intelligent, likely more intelligent—​I’m guessing, for I have not seen the SAT scores—​than octopuses. Why, for that matter, is intelligence the scale by which we decide whom to spare? Or size? Have the simple and the small less right to live?”

SimpleSpeciesSizeIntelligenceLiveRightIrrationalSmallScale
Book:Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
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“THE TRUTH OF THE VERY SMALL When he is born, a baby's head is filled with the knowledge of space. The circumference of his skull is as infinite as the twirlings of the universe. His eyes look out with the blur of eyes which see for all species. He has remembered his own nature from past patterns. Now his heart beats through rock, sky, oceans. He feels the silence and the sound all around the world beneath his skin. We all hold somewhere deep within us the truth we accepted in innocence. The seas, the forests, the soil, the atmosphere, are all vital parts of an ongoing system. By harming any part of it we must ultimately harm ourselves. It is that simple.”

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Book:SPAN
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“We ought to, as human beings, have the courage to seek a collective “truth” that benefits our species the most, and to accept that all of our doctrines and beliefs may just be incomplete. That we don’t know it all and that perhaps we never will. That others like us may have something to teach us, and we may have something to contribute to their communities. That communities, types of people, are divisions we’ve created for ourselves. That for all of what we know, the knowledge and wisdom that we have gathered in the few millennia may be a small fraction of what is there to be discovered, understood and applied.”

PeopleWisdomTruthUnderstandingCommunityKnowledgeTeachCourageKnowingAcceptanceHumanDiscoverySpeciesLearnKnowDiscoverAcceptCompleteBenefitCollectiveContributeCommunitiesApplyBeings
Book:The Things We Don't Know
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“Any species that devours its natural environment will eventually fall victim to the resulting silence and I call the toxicity of silence: Extinction Silence”

NaturalSilenceEnvironmentVictimSpeciesEnvironmentalExtinctionNatural WorldEnvironmentalismNatural SelectionNatural LawNaturalismEnvironmental ProtectionVictimsEnvironmental ConservationEnvironmental DegradationSilence QuoteEnvironmental ValuesSilencedDevourNatural DisastersSpecies RelationsDevoursDevoured
Book:Curing Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
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“Humility is a virtue of the heavenly, not arrogance. Are we the most superior beast on earth? No, not in strength and not in intelligence. It is very arrogant to assume that we are the most intelligent species when we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Both rats and monkeys have been shown to learn from error, yet we have not. More people have died in the name of religion than any other cause on earth. Is massacring God’s creations really serving God – or the devil? And what father would want to see his children constantly divided and fighting? What God would allow a single human life to be sacrificed for monetary gain? Again, the Creator or the devil?”

ChildrenWarGodEarthReligionFightingFatherJusticeMistakeStrengthHumilityDevilDiedSpeciesGreedInjusticeIntelligenceProfitHumbleMistakesHuman LifeArroganceHeavenlyDividedFightAnimalsArrogantRatsMonkeysSuzy KassemErrorWar CrimesCrimes Against HumanityMassacreKilledDivideGod SCreationsRepeating The PastRepeat MistakesMonetary GainMonetary ProfitIntelligent SpeciesLifecreatorMassacringReligious KillingRepeat PastSuperior BeastSuperior Creatures
Book:Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
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“[On Schopenhauer in Black and White] Schopenhauer's views of love are flawed. Love can't be merely an illusion of the mind to aid in procreation, but the path to redemption for an otherwise violently selfish species. Past human greatness has proven that when challenged, love can overpower impulsive instinct, and in essence, the vilest aspects of our nature.”

LoveMindHumanityNaturePowerViolenceHuman NatureHumanIllusionEssenceInstinctSpeciesSelfishViolentRedemptionHuman ConditionLoverChallengeProcreationInstinctsFlawSchopenhauerOverpowerSchopenhauer As Educator
Author:Tiffany Madison
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“We, of all the beings that we know of, can think. We can eat, write, build, save. We can predict, estimate, and count. We can preserve food for lifetimes, and in times of crisis, we can find ways to ensure our survival. With each passing generation, our sphere of control of our existence is larger. What if the earth is hit by an asteroid or there is no way to stop global warming? We look to colonize other planets. The fate of our species, in a few years, will not be tied to the fate of the earth. Our home planet must be cared for ... but as we go interplanetary and then interstellar, our control on our lives and the evolution of our species grows. As far as we know, we are the only species that has a say in the development of its future.”

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Book:The Things We Don't Know
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“Λαθράνθρωπος, οι = ἂνθρωπος/οι, που λαθραῖα συν~κατα~λέγονται στο εἲδος των ἀνθρῶπων ~ Lathranthrope, Lathranthropes = the person or persons that get smuggled into being included within the Human species neology by Ale3ia”

PeoplePersonsHumanityHumanSpeciesPersonBeingPeople QuotesWithinStealthIncludeContrabandIncludedSmuggleStealthyLathranthropeLathranthropesSmuggledάνθρωποςάτομαάτομοανθρωπότηταείδοςεἲδοςλαθράνθρωποιλαθράνθρωποςλαθραιαλαθραιολαθραιοςσυγκαταλέγωἀνθρωπότηταἂνθρωποςἂτομαἂτομοAnthropoeidAnthropoeidsανθρωποειδήανθρωποςἀνθρωποειδές
Author:Ale3ia
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“Λαθρανθρωπία = το να συν~κατα~λέγεται λαθραῖα ἒνα ἂτομο/α, στο εἲδος των ἀνθρῶπων. ~ Lathranthropia = the smuggled inclusion of a person or persons within the Human species. neology by Ale3ia”

PeopleHumansPersonsHumanityHumanSpeciesInclusionPersonPeople QuotesWithinIncludeNeologismNeologismsContrabandSmuggleLathranthropeLathranthropesSmuggledάνθρωποςάτομαάτομοανθρωπότηταείδοςεἲδοςλαθράνθρωποιλαθράνθρωποςλαθραιαλαθραιολαθραιοςσυγκαταλέγωἀνθρωπότηταἂνθρωποςἂτομαἂτομοAle3iaAle3ia Penteleόn De ArcturiChevalieuseChevalieuse De Faeinoterre HeliaLathranthropiaNeologiaNeologyλαθραίοιλαθραῖανεολογίανεολογισμόςσυν κατα λέγω
Author:Ale3ia
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“We human beings regard ourselves as (or compare ourselves to) animals only when it suits us.”

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Author:Mokokoma Mokhonoana
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“As a citizen of the world, I will not confine myself within the gates of one nation or religion. I will not identify with only one species, sex, class or race; for I am a complete being, and that means that I embrace all of humanity, all of nature, every star and universe within the greater universe as a part of me. If we were all created in the image of God, and his love is unconditional, then why can't we love all living things with the same eyes as God? How can anybody say that one race is more superior than another, when we were all created in God's reflection?”

WorldLoveGodReligionHumanitySpiritualityUniverseStarsSexNatureJusticeRaceClassRacismHumanUniversalSpeciesCreatorEqualityThoughtInequalityLabelsUnconditional LoveFairnessBiasThinkNationStarGlobal CitizenSuzy KassemWorld CitizenInferiority ComplexCitizenSuperiorInferiorReligion And ScienceGod S EyesAffiliationsAll Living ThingsComplete BeingAll Men Were CreatedEmbrace IdentityGod S Reflection
Book:Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
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“I have argued that this sort of thinking is problematic in at least two regards: First, the notion that nonhuman animals do not have an interest in continued existence—that they do not have an interest in their lives—involves relying on a speciesist concept of what sort of self-awareness matters morally. I have argued that every sentient being necessarily has an interest in continued existence—every sentient being values her or his life—and that to say that only those animals (human animals) who have a particular sort of self-awareness have an interest in not being treated as commodities begs the fundamental moral question. Even if, as some maintain, nonhuman animals live in an “eternal present”—and I think that is empirically not the case at the very least for most of the nonhumans we routinely exploit who do have memories of the past and a sense of the future—they have, in each moment, an interest in continuing to exist. To say that this does not count morally is simply speciesist. Second, even if animals do not have an interest in continuing to live and only have interests in not suffering, the notion that, as a practical matter, we will ever be able to accord those interests the morally required weight is simply fantasy. The notion that we property owners are ever going to accord any sort of significant weight to the interests of property in not suffering is simply unrealistic. Is it possible in theory? Yes. Is it possible as a matter of practicality in the real world. Absolutely not. Welfarists often talk about treating “farmed animals” in the way that we treat dogs and cats whom we love and regard as members of our family. Does anyone really think that is practically possible? The fact that we would not think of eating our dogs and cats is some indication that it is not.”

HumansInterestLivingSpeciesAnimalsSentient BeingsSpeciesismSentienceNon HumansContinued LifeSpeciesist
Author:GaryLFrancione
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“In place of a process that 'others' distressed people, we can look for ways to 'belong' them. For sure they do belong, and the belonging begins on a vast scale. As a regular human being, having inherited protections that kept every one of their ancestors alive at least long enough to start a family, the patient can consider themselves well equipped to handle, in their own time and in their own way, whatever lies ahead. They possess a genius for survival that has accumulated over countless generations; in this real sense, all of their fore -fathers and mothers- are on their side.”

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Book:Evolutionary Psychiatry: Current Perspectives on Evolution and Mental Health
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“Evolutionary scholars have long stressed the adaptive role of aggressive and antisocial behavior as a high-risk strategy for social and mating competition. In evolutionary psychopathology, antisocial disorders are usually regarded as costly but potentially adaptive strategies rather than behavioral dysfunctions. Some authors have focused specifically on the evolution of psychopathy, and argued that this condition embodies a "cheater" social strategy designed to exploit other people's trust and cooperative behavior while avoiding reciprocation.”

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Book:Evolutionary Psychopathology: A Unified Approach
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“Evolution in the cognitive niche has endowed our species with remarkable abilities such as language, abstract reasoning, and sophisticated mentalizing. These species-typical innovations have been accompanied by rapid changes in brain structure and functionality. While adaptations such as language are hugely beneficial, they are also likley to carry some costs. A number of authors have argued that vulnerability to psychosis is one of those costs -the price our species pays for its unique set of cognitive skills. From this perspective, there are no individual fitness benefits to psychosis proneness; vulnerability to schizophrenia and other psychoses is a general byproduct of our evolved design, and unfortunate combinations of genetic and environmental factors determine the onset of a full-fledged disorder in some individuals.”

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Book:Evolutionary Psychopathology: A Unified Approach
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“Even properly functioning defenses are subject to activation errors, evolutionary/developmental mismatches and maladaptive learning; moreover, mechanisms that are initially functional may become damaged or dysregulated following periods of chronic hyperactivation. In other words, conditions that start as adaptive response may sometimes morph into dysfuntions along the way.”

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Book:Evolutionary Psychopathology: A Unified Approach
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“We are the most civilized species on earth, because we grow every single day – we grow – and we will keep on growing with each other. We will keep on growing with our brothers, sisters and friends, whether they are from different religions, different race, different languages, colors, sexual orientation, gender – it doesn’t matter. We are all humans and we have to grow together. It’s not enough to be diverse. For a species to evolve, for a species to survive, you need to accept that diversity. Because if you don’t, then that diversity has no value. Accept the diversity and the growth of us humans – the progress of us humans, will be much faster and smoother.”

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Author:Abhijit Naskar
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“During the initial agricultural -revolution-, people began to cultivate cereals, rice and other plants. They settled into permanent dwellings to tend crops and led more sedentary lifestyles. Some early agriculturalists decreased the breadth of their diet, incorporated more carbohydrates and lived in larger communities, where diseases could spread more easily.”

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Book:Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine: An Integrated Approach
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“O America, I am your Liberty, and you are that huddled mass yearning to breathe free. I am your Lighthouse, the One beaconing [yea, beckoning], and you are that wayfarer—strayed, grayed, and frayed … Now, return, you tempest-tost; lift up your gaze to the lighted torch aloft the golden door and come home.”

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Book:The Lamb's Epistle: The Living Lord's Final Word to a Dying World
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“Under natural selection, species adapt to their environments. When the environment refers to a species' physical habitat, this seems simple enough. If a species lives in the Arctic, it had better evolve some warm fur. Under sexual selection, species adapt too, but they adapt to themselves. Females adapt to males, and males adapt to females. Sexual preferences adapt to the sexual ornaments avaliable, and sexual ornaments adapt to sexual preferences.”

SexEvolutionSpeciesEvolutionary PsychologyHomo SapiensMaleFemales
Book:The Mating Mind: How Sexual Choice Shaped the Evolution of Human Nature
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“A misbegotten hatchling of consciousness, a birth defect of our species, imagination is often revered as a sign of vigor in our make-up. But it is really just a psychic overcompensation for our impotence as beings. Denied nature’s exemption from creativity, we are indentured servants of the imaginary until the hour of our death, when the final harassments of imagination will beset us.”

DeathImaginationConsciousnessCreativitySpeciesImaginaryImpotenceServantsOvercompensationBirth Defect
Book:The Conspiracy Against the Human Race
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“It is our ultimate purpose to continually evolve as a species both physically and emotionally, as change is the mechanism for growth and development, and if we fear change we stunt our own growth and with it, human evolution.”

PurposeFearGrowthChangeHuman NatureSpeciesEvolveChange The WorldHuman EvolutionGrowth ProcessGrowth And DevelopmentEvolved ConsciousnessEvolutionary ProcessEvolution Of ConsciousnessEvolutionary Enlightenment
Book:Anatomy Of Illumination
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“Ritual is as old as humanity. The first humans ritually raised hands and voices in both desperation and exaltation, just as we do today. That protracted continuity is no historical accident. Ritual has been as critical to our success as fire and tools.”

ReligionEvolutionSpeciesRitualEvolutionary PsychologyHomo SapiensCohesionUltrasociality
Book:Ritual in Human Evolution and Religion: Psychological and Ritual Resources
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