Most of the vices and mortal sins condemned today correspond to inclinations that were purely adaptive or at least harmless in primitive man
Konrad LorenzThe scientist knows very well that he is approaching ultimate truth only in an asymptotic curve and is barred from ever reaching it; but at the same time he is proudly aware of being indeed able to determine whether a statement is a nearer or a less near approach to the truth.
Konrad LorenzIt ought to be realized by all dog owners that obesity shortens a dog's life quite considerably, a life which is much too short anyhow.
Konrad LorenzAll the advantages that man has gained from his ever-deepening understanding of the natural world that surrounds him, his technological, chemical and medical progress, all of which should seem to alleviate human suffering... tends instead to favor humanity's destruction.
Konrad LorenzThe distance at which all shooting weapons take effect screens the killer against the stimulus sensation which would otherwise activate his killing inhibitions. The deep, emotional layers of our personality simply do not register the fact that the crooking of the finger to release a shot tears the entrails of another man.
Konrad LorenzEvery mutation through a new combination of genetic factors that provides the organism with a new opportunity for coming to terms with the conditions of its environment signifies no more and no less than that new information about this environment has got into that organic system. Adaptation is essentially a cognitive process.
Konrad Lorenz