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A man sufficiently gifted with humor is in small danger of succumbing to flattering delusions about himself, because he cannot help perceiving what a pompous ass he would become if he did.

Konrad Lorenz

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Konrad Lorenz
Age: 85 †
Born: 1903
Born: November 7
Died: 1989
Died: February 27
Biologist
Ethologist
Naturalist
Philosopher
Physician
Psychologist
University Teacher
Writer
Zoologist
Vienna
Austria
Konrad Z. Lorenz
Konrad Zacharias Lorenz
Become
Delusion
Would
Ass
Succumbing
Men
Danger
Perceiving
Humor
Delusions
Small
Pompous
Help
Sufficiently
Helping
Flattering
Cannot
Gifted

More quotes by Konrad Lorenz

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...he who has seen the intimate beauty of nature cannot tear himself away from it again. He must become either a poet or a naturalist and, if his eyes are keen and his powers of observation sharp enough, he may well become both.
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I believe that present day civilized man suffers from insufficient discharge of his aggressive drive
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Scientific truth is universal, because it is only discovered by the human brain and not made by it, as art is.
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The 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.
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Most of the vices and mortal sins condemned today correspond to inclinations that were purely adaptive or at least harmless in primitive man
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All too willingly man sees himself as the centre of the universe, as something not belonging to the rest of nature but standing apart as a different and higher being. Many people cling to this error and remain deaf to the wisest command ever given by a sage, the famous Know thyself inscribed in the temple of Delphi.
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One of the most dangerously vicious circles menacing the continued existence of all mankind arises through that grim striving for the highest possible position within the ranked order, in other words, the reckless pursuit of power which combines with an insatiable greed of neurotic proportions that the results of acquired power confer.
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The cat is a wild animal that inhabits the homes of humans.
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Historians will have to face the fact that natural selection determined the evolution of cultures in the same manner as it did that of species.
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Man has been driven out of the paradise in which he could trust his instincts.
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Hatred of humanity and love of animals make a very bad combination.
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The instinctive need to be the member of a closely knit group fighting for common ideals may grow so strong that it becomes inessential what these ideals are.
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The fidelity of a dog is a precious gift.
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Man appears to be the missing link between anthropoid apes and human beings.
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It 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.
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Philosophers are people who know less and less about more and more, until they know nothing about everything. Scientists are people who know more and more about less and less, until they know everything about nothing.
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Just thinking that my dog loves me more than I love him, I feel shame.
Konrad Lorenz
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The neuro-physiological organization which we call instinct functions in a blindly mechanical way, particularly apparent when its function goes wrong.
Konrad Lorenz
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Every 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.
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I would rather have a Scot come from Scotland togovern the people of this kingdom well and justly, than that you should govern them ill in the sight of all the world.
Konrad Lorenz