"Seeing. We might say that the whole of life lies in that verb - if not in end, at least in essence. Fuller being is closer union; such is the kernel and conclusion of this book. But let us emphasize the point: union can only increase through an increase in consciousness; that is say in vision. And that, doubtless, is why the history of the living world can be summarised as the elaboration of even more perfect eyes within a cosmos in which there is always something more to be seen. After all, do we not judge the perfection of an animal, or the supremacy of a thinking being, by the penetration and synthetic power of their gaze? To try to see more and better is not a matter of whim or curiosity or self-indulgence. To see or to perish is the very condition laid upon everything that makes up the universe, by reason of the mysterious gift of existence. And this, in superior measure, is man's condition."

- From the Foreword of The Phenomenon of Man by Teilhard de Chardin