Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
When I view all beings not as special creations, but as the lineal descendants of some few beings which lived long before the first bed of the Cambrian system was deposited, they seem to me to become ennobled.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that all life is interconnected and has evolved from common ancestors, which adds a sense of dignity to all beings.
Charles Darwin reflects on the concept of common ancestry in evolution, indicating that when we perceive all living beings as part of a continuous lineage rather than as unique and separate creations, it elevates their value. This perspective fosters a sense of respect and nobility among all forms of life, highlighting the shared history and interconnectedness of all organisms throughout time.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental conservation, one could quote Darwin to emphasize the dignity of all life forms and their evolutionary connections.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes →The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science....It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many flaw[s] & holes as sound parts.
We cannot fathom the marvelous complexity of an organic being; but on the hypothesis here advanced this complexity is much increased. Each living creature must be looked at as a microcosm--a little universe, formed of a host of self-propagating organisms, inconceivably minute and as numerous as the stars in heaven.
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
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Outsiders tend to be the first to recognize the inadequacies of our social institutions. But, precisely because they are outsiders, they are usually in a poor position to fix them.
If the clockwork universe equated the human body with the mechanics of the clock, the digital universe now equates human consciousness with the processing of the computer. We joke that things don't compute, that we need a reboot, or that our memory has been wiped.
The mind becomes accustomed to things by the habitual sight of them, and neither wonders nor inquires about the reasons for things it sees all the time.
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one.
Witness testimony is always flawed. It's better than circumstantial evidence, sure, but people aren't camcorders; they don't record every action and reaction, and the very act of remembering involves chosing words, actions and images. In other words, any witness who was supposed to be giving a court facts is really just giving them a version of fiction.