The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be.
Konrad LorenzRead
Man has been driven out of the paradise in which he could trust his instincts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on humanity's disconnection from a natural state of instinctual trust and connection to the world.
Konrad Lorenz's quote highlights a profound loss that humanity experiences: the departure from a primal paradise where individuals could fully rely on their instincts. In modern society, the complexities and artificial constructs surrounding us often lead to mistrust in our innate feelings and intuitions, suggesting a longing for a time when life was simpler and more aligned with our natural instincts.
Themes
ParadiseInstinctsTrustHumanityDisconnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about how modern life impacts our decision-making, one could invoke Lorenz's quote to emphasize the importance of reconnecting with our instincts.
More from Konrad Lorenz
All quotes βWhenever we find, in two forms of life that are unrelated to each other, a similarity of form or of behaviour patterns which relates to more than a few minor details, we assume it to be caused by parallel adaptation to the same life-preserving function.
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I grew up in the large house and the larger garden of my parents in Altenberg. They were supremely tolerant of my inordinate love for animals.
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More than any other product of human scientific culture scientific knowledge is the collective property of all mankind.
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In nature we find not only that which is expedient, but also everything which is not so inexpedient as to endanger the existence of the species.
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Most people have forgotten how to live with living creatures, with living systems and that, in turn, is the reason why man, whenever he comes into contact with nature, threatens to kill the natural system in which and from which he live.
Konrad LorenzRead
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