Elizabeth Marshall Thomas Quotes

Powerful Elizabeth Marshall Thomas for Daily Growth

About Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (1927-2021) was an influential American anthropologist, ethnographer, novelist, and naturalist, best known for her groundbreaking work on the behavior of wild animals, particularly her seminal book "The Harmless People" about the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert. Born in 1927 in New York City, Thomas displayed an early interest in nature and animals. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. Her life took an unexpected turn when she met a young lion cub while studying anthropology at the University of Chicago. Inspired by this encounter, Thomas embarked on a new path, dedicating her life to understanding animal behavior. Thomas's career as a field researcher began in the 1950s, when she spent several years living among the San bushmen of the Kalahari desert. This experience formed the basis for her first book, "The Harmless People," published in 1959. The book challenged contemporary theories about human evolution and sparked a renewed interest in the study of hunter-gatherer societies. Thomas continued to write and conduct field research throughout her life. Her works include "Reeds in the Wind" (1963), a novel based on her experiences among the Bushmen, and "The Hidden Life of Dogs" (1993), a best-selling exploration of canine behavior and cognition. Thomas's work was marked by her deep empathy for animals and her belief in their intelligence and complexity. She advocated for the ethical treatment of animals and sought to dispel the anthropocentric bias that pervades much of Western thought. Thomas passed away in 2021, leaving behind a rich legacy of groundbreaking work that continues to influence the fields of anthropology, ethnography, and animal behavior studies.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is enough."

This quote suggests that in the natural world, perfection does not exist and everything functions just as it needs to, without needing to be "more" or "better." It emphasizes acceptance and appreciation of things as they are, acknowledging their inherent sufficiency and recognizing the beauty and harmony within imperfection. It's a reminder that we should strive for balance and understanding in our interactions with nature and the world around us.


"Wild animals know survival better than we do. They don't waste time with guilt or regret; they deal with what's in front of them."

This quote suggests that wild animals are adept at surviving in their natural environments, without being bogged down by human emotions such as guilt or regret. They focus on immediate needs and respond to their circumstances effectively, demonstrating a more primal, instinctual approach to life compared to humans who may be influenced by a wider range of emotions. The message can serve as a reminder for individuals to learn from the survival skills of animals and focus on addressing current challenges rather than dwelling on past events or feelings of guilt or regret.


"The world we have created as a result of our success in science and technology is a very different world from the one that was created by earlier types of intelligence."

This quote emphasizes the transformative impact of human intelligence, particularly in the realms of science and technology, on our world compared to previous forms of intelligence (such as those exhibited by other species). Human achievements have resulted in a unique, technologically advanced world that dramatically contrasts with earlier environments shaped by less complex forms of intelligence. This quote underscores the power and consequences of human innovation, as well as the potential gap between our world and those created by other intelligent beings.


"What makes us human is not our superiority to other animals, but our capacity to understand our similarity to them."

This quote suggests that what defines humanity isn't our superiority over other creatures, but rather our unique ability to comprehend and appreciate the similarities we share with other animals. It underscores the idea that human beings are not inherently superior; instead, it is our self-awareness, empathy, and capacity for understanding that sets us apart. This perspective encourages empathy towards animals and respects their intrinsic value as fellow inhabitants of our planet.


"Everyone has their own wilderness they must walk through alone."

This quote by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas suggests that each individual faces personal challenges, obstacles or periods of growth in life where self-discovery and resilience are required. These 'wildernesses' are unique to each person, reflecting their individual experiences, beliefs, and aspirations. Navigating through these wildernesses alone implies the necessity for introspection, personal courage, and the development of one's own identity and character. In essence, it emphasizes that everyone has their journey towards self-understanding and growth, which is a solitary yet unifying human experience.


Dogs who live in each other's company are calm and pragmatic, never showing the desperate need to make known their needs and feelings or to communicate their observations, as some hysterical dogs who know only the company of our species are likely to do.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Communicate, Some, Other, Observations

Barring some competition from whales, wolves are probably America's most popular wild animal. Wolves are also contenders for America's most unpopular wild animal, with perhaps some competition from coyotes.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Competition, Some, Also, Wild Animal

You can look at your dog and see that it's thinking and has strong feelings. And if it does, so do wolves. And if wolves do, so do elephants. People aren't the only beings that think and feel.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Strong, Think, Feel, Elephants

Veterinarians are essential allies to the millions of us who experience the human-animal bond.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Experience, Allies, Millions, Essential

In my cosmology, indigenous wild deer are more important than exotic ornamental shrubs.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Important, Deer, Indigenous, Cosmology

Many expressions of a cat's feelings seem deeply related to the capture of live prey.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Cat, Prey, Related, Expressions

Every dog might wish to be Dog One, but like us, most dogs want membership in the group even more than they want supremacy over others.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Over, Like, Might, Membership

Not even a maggot is an it, and to refer to any animal in that manner is an affectation, an ignorant stab at science-speak.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Animal, Ignorant, Even, Refer

No other creatures of the savannah sleep as deeply or as soundly as lions, but after all, lions are the main reason for not sleeping soundly.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Reason, Other, Creatures, Savannah

Dogs like to learn stuff, if not from another dog, then people are OK... They love activity, playing, interesting walks, and just belonging, being together.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Love, Activity, Like, OK

We are surely the primary agent of death for all members of the cat tribe. For many if not most cat species, our depredations must surpass accidents, disease, and even starvation by a considerable margin.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Margin, Surely, Agent, Primary

This was what you did in the '50s: You get married, get a job, put your husband through graduate school, and have two kids - a girl and a boy.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Husband, Through, Your, Graduate School

To sit idly, not doing, merely experiencing, comes hard to a primate.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Doing, Hard, Experiencing, Idly

When we became sedentary, lived indoors, and started to raise livestock, we began to see wolves not as occasional fur-bearers or fellow hunters but as robbers.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Began, Hunters, Became, Sedentary

People acquire a dog, don't understand it, can't train it, get fed up, and... offer it for adoption, hoping to pass on the problem to somebody else. But nobody wants a problem dog.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Understand, Pass, Fed, Train

All the members of the dog family - domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, dingoes - are very aware of territory. A group must control its own territory - you can't have others taking it from you, because then you won't have enough food.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Own, Very, Domestic, Wolves

As far as I'm concerned, I own my dogs as I own my body. My legs are with me when I take a shower, and I feel no shame. If I were to lose one, I'd grieve, and people would send sympathy cards, but it would be my condition that evoked the sympathy, not the fate of the leg. That's like losing a dog.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Cards, Shame, Shower, Send

We may never find a way to live in suburbia with deer as we do with raccoons, say, or squirrels. So for this reason, it's very important that we make sure always to save enough wild or open land so that they can live in their normal manner.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Reason, Deer, Very, Open

Dogs are a window on the natural world.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

World, Dogs, Natural, Natural World

We used to go in the woods by ourselves, and you can't help noticing the world then, especially animals. People used to know a lot about the natural world, especially in the country.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Woods, Country, Natural, Natural World

Cats and dogs are a very good window into the natural world: a chance to see how another species lives and deals with its problems, what they like and what they don't like.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Chance, Natural, Very, Natural World

From the very dawn of time until now and well into the future... human-animal companionship is at the very core of our instincts not only for mutual survival, but mutually rewarding relationships.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Survival, Rewarding, Very, Instincts

When I write about animals, I use anthropological techniques and the language you would use for a person. You don't have to anthropomorphize animals, just acknowledge their individuality.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Use, I Write, About, Individuality

I would like to visit a dog's mind to know what he's thinking and feeling.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Mind, Like, Would, Visit

Every day, the humane societies execute thousands of dogs who tried all their lives to do their very best by their owners. These dogs are killed not because they are bad but because they are inconvenient. So as we need God more than he needs us, dogs need us more than we need them, and they know it.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Bad, Very, Humane, Execute

Besides individual things like thunder and gunshots, what dogs fear most is not belonging, being alone.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Thunder, Individual, Like, Being Alone

Animals need to understand other species, if only to prey on them or escape from them.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Prey, Need, Other, Escape

Hundreds of species are facing extinction due to human impacts on the environment.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Environment, Extinction, Due, Impacts

I don't mind aging - I'm glad to be aging. I'll never die young.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Mind, Die, Never, Aging

We fill the woods with invasive primates camouflaged to look like piles of leaves who sneak around, sprinkling estrus doe urine and manipulating gadgets that sound like antlers clashing.

- Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Woods, Sound, Like, Sneak

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