At that time I had not yet been taught the doctrine I was later to learn so hurriedly in the Lager: that man is bound to pursue his own ends by all possible means, while he who errs but once pays dearly

Accommodation to change, the thoughtful pursuit of alternative futures are keys to the survival of civilization and perhaps of the human species.

Never saw off the branch you are on, unless you are being hanged from it.

When you get to the end of your rope - tie a knot in it and hang on.

I am ignorant and impotent and yet, somehow or other, here I am, unhappy, no doubt, profoundly dissatisfied ... In spite of everything I survive.

A fish does not campaign against fisheries-it only tries to slip through the mesh.

It isn't important to come out on top, what matters is to be the one who comes out alive.

We must live in groups; other people are like nutrients for us, and are absolutely essential for our survival.

Self-preservation is the first principle of our nature.

Whether science-and indeed civilization in general-can long survive depends upon psychology, that is to say, it depends upon what human beings desire.