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We frequently look into the future of mankind and see dangers. We see if we carry on doing what we are doing in 20 years' time there will be no rainforests left, just to use one example. Looking into the future may be one of the reasons that brains evolved in the first place.
Richard Dawkins
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the importance of foresight and awareness of the consequences of human actions on the future.

Richard Dawkins reflects on the human ability to anticipate future challenges, particularly in relation to environmental concerns such as the destruction of rainforests. He suggests that this capacity for forward-thinking may have been a crucial aspect of human evolution, highlighting the need to be conscious of our actions today to safeguard the planet for future generations.

Themes

EnvironmentFutureRainforestForesightHumanity

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about climate change, this quote can be used to stress the importance of sustainable practices.

More from Richard Dawkins

No educated person believes the Adam and Eve myth nowadays, but it's surprising how many parents think that it's somehow fun to pass on this falsehood to their children...I would want to argue that the truth of evolution is more interesting and more poetic
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The population of the U.S. is nearly 300 million, including many of the best educated, most talented, most resourceful, humane people on earth. By almost any measure of civilised attainment, from Nobel prize-counts on down, the U.S. leads the world by miles.
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When you make machines that are capable of obeying instructions slavishly, and among those instructions are 'duplicate me' instructions, then of course the system is wide open to exploitation by parasites.
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Even if not a single fossil has ever been found, the evidence from surviving animals would still overwhelmingly force the conclusion that Darwin was right.
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The bitter hatreds that now poison Middle Eastern politics are rooted in the real or perceived wrong of the setting up of a Jewish State in an Islamic region. In view of all that the Jews had been through, it must have seemed a fair and humane solution. Probably deep familiarity with the Old Testament had given the European and American decision-makers some sort of idea that this really was the historic homeland of the Jews.
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