Die drei galaktischen Zivilisationsstufen

"The history of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, Survival, that of Inquiry, and that of Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why, and Where phases. For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question, 'How can we eat?', the second by the question, 'Why do we eat?'; and the third by the question, 'Where shall we have lunch?'"

- Douglas Adams in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"