The love of complexity without reductionism makes art; the love of complexity with reductionism makes science.

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.

Humanity is part of nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identify ourselves with the rest of life, the more quickly we will be able to discover the sources of human sensibility and acquire the knowledge on which an enduring ethic, a sense of preferred direction, can be built.

Science offers the boldest metaphysics of the age. It is a thoroughly human construct, driven by the faith that if we dream, press to discover, explain, and dream again, thereby plunging repeatedly into new terrain, the world will somehow come clearer and we will grasp the true strangeness of the universe. And the strangeness will all prove to be connected, and make sense.

What we need is an electronic encyclopedia of life, with one page for each species. On each page is given everything known about that species.

We exist in a bizarre combination of Stone Age emotions, medieval beliefs, and god-like technology.

I tend to believe that religious dogma is a consequence of evolution.