It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
The law of evolution is that the strongest survives!' 'Yes, and the strongest, in the existence of any social species, are those who are most social. In human terms, most ethical...There is no strength to be gained from hurting one another. Only weakness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Strength in social cohesion and ethical behavior fosters survival over physical dominance.
Ursula K. Le Guin highlights a profound truth about evolution: while physical strength may be traditionally associated with survival, in social beings like humans, true strength lies in the ability to connect with others and act ethically. The quote emphasizes that harming each other leads to weakness, suggesting that cooperation and empathy are essential for the thriving of communities.
Themes
EvolutionStrengthSocialEthicalCooperationCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
A motivational speech on teamwork in a corporate setting.
More from Ursula K. Le Guin
All quotes →In reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. “Do they expect students not to be anarchists?” he said. “What else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
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