“Life is not found in atoms or molecules or genes as such, but in organization; not in symbiosis but in synthesis.”

1960s, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
Context: Communism forgets that life is individual. Capitalism forgets that life is social, and the kingdom of brotherhood is found neither in the thesis of communism nor the antithesis of capitalism but in a higher synthesis. It is found in a higher synthesis that combines the truths of both. Now, when I say question the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of exploitation, and the problem of war are all tied together. These are the triple evils that are interrelated.

E. Laszlo (1994) Vision 2020: Reordering Chaos for Global Survival. Philadelphia: Gordon & Breach.

Source: Cosmos

Preface to the first edition
Source: The Selfish Gene (1976, 1989)

Source: The Sacred Depths of Nature (1998), p. 59
Context: Patterns of gene expression are to organisms as melodies and harmonies are to sonatas. It's all about which sets of proteins appear in a cell at the same time (the chords) and which sets come before or after other sets (the themes) and at what rate they appear (the tempos) and how they modulate one another (the developments and transitions). When these patterns go awry we may see malignancy. When they change by mutation we can get new kinds of organisms. When they work, we get a creature.

ARE THERE QUANTUM JUMPS ? PART II(1952)

As quoted in The Wit and Wisdom of the 20th Century : A Dictionary of Quotations‎ (1987) by Frank S. Pepper, p. 226
Context: When we have found how the nucleus of atoms is built up we shall have found the greatest secret of all — except life. We shall have found the basis of everything — of the earth we walk on, of the air we breathe, of the sunshine, of our physical body itself, of everything in the world, however great or however small — except life.

Source: Jenna Starborn

Principles of Biochemistry, Ch. 2 : Water