34+ Garrett Hardin Quotes On Education, Government And Religion

Garrett Hardin was an American ecologist and philosopher best known for his advocacy of environmentalism and population control. He is most famous for his 1968 essay "The Tragedy of the Commons", in which he argued that individuals acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest will ultimately deplete shared resources. Hardin's work has been influential in the development of the modern environmental movement. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Garrett Hardin on life, education, government.

Top 10 Garrett Hardin Quotes

1. (Technology reliability) x (Human reliability) = (System reliability)
2. No one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means.
3. In a competitive world of limited resources, total freedom of individual action is intolerable
4. People are the quintessential element in all technology... Once we recognize the inescapable human nexus of all technology our attitude toward the reliability problem is fundamentally changed.
5. There is nothing more dangerous than a shallow thinking compassionate person
6. It takes five years for a willing person's mind to change. Have patience with yourself and others when treading in an area protected by a taboo.
7. The essence of dramatic tragedy is not unhappiness. It resides in the solemnity of the remorseless working of things.
8. A coldly rationalist individualist can deny that he has any obligation to make sacrifices for the future.
9. The rational man finds that his share of the cost of the wastes he discharges into the commons is less than the cost of purifying his wastes before releasing them.
10. Ecology is the overall science of which economics is a minor speciality.

Garrett Hardin Short Quotes

• The population problem has no technical solution; it requires a fundamental extension in morality.
• Ecological differentiation is the necessary condition for coexistence.
• The only thing we can really count on in this uncertain world is human unreliability itself.
• The morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed.
• You cannot do only one thing.
• Thou shalt not transgress the carrying capacity
• We see only what we have names for.
• Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.
• Never globalize a problem if it can possibly be dealt with locally.
• What features of your daily life do you expect to be improved by a further increase in population?

Garrett Hardin Famous Quotes And Sayings

The god who is reputed to have created fleas to keep dogs from moping over their situation must also have created fundamentalists to keep rationalists from getting flabby. Let us be duly thankful for out blessings. — Garrett Hardin

The exquisite sight, sound, and smell of wilderness is many times more powerful if it is earned through physical achievement, if it comes at the end of a long and fatiguing trip for which vigorous good health is necessary. Practically speaking, this means that no one should be able to enter a wilderness by mechanical means. — Garrett Hardin

Numeracy: 1. The art of putting numbers to things, that is, assigning amounts to variables in order that practical decisions may be reach. 2. That aspect of education (beyond mere literacy) which takes account of quantitative aspects of reality. — Garrett Hardin

Throughout history, human exploitation of the earth has produced this progression: colonize-destroy-move on. — Garrett Hardin

We can't cure a shortage by increasing the supply. — Garrett Hardin

Value is a relative concept: the value of each action is determined by comparing it with other possible actions. — Garrett Hardin

Economists (and others) who are satisfied with nature-free equations develop a dangerous hubris about the potency of our species — Garrett Hardin

Every plausible policy must be followed by the question 'And then what?' — Garrett Hardin

Every measured thing is part of a web of variables more richly interconnected than we know. — Garrett Hardin

The three filters [against folly] operate through these particular questions: Literacy: What are the words? Numeracy: What are the numbers? Ecolacy: And then what? — Garrett Hardin

Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born. — Garrett Hardin

Religious reasons, which is no reason. I notice Skeptic had a review of Dennett's book, Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Religious reasons amount to what Dennett terms "skyhooks." Do you believe in skyhooks? I don't. — Garrett Hardin

You can never do merely one thing. The law applies to any action that changes something in a complex system. The point is that an action taken to alleviate a problem will trigger several effects, some of which may offset or even negate the one intended. — Garrett Hardin

The greatest folly is to accept expert statements uncritically. At the very least, we should always seek another opinion. — Garrett Hardin

Life Lessons by Garrett Hardin

1. Garrett Hardin taught us that the world's resources are finite and that we must find ways to use them responsibly and sustainably.
2. He also emphasized the importance of taking a holistic approach to environmental problems, as they are often interconnected and have far-reaching consequences.
3. Finally, Hardin encouraged us to think critically about our actions and decisions, and to recognize the potential long-term impacts of our actions on the environment.