Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Darwin asserts that all complex organs can be explained through gradual evolutionary changes.
In this quote, Charles Darwin emphasizes the foundational principle of his theory of evolution, which is that complex biological structures can be understood as the result of gradual changes over time, rather than arising suddenly or through any other means. He is expressing a commitment to finding evidence that can contradict his theory, yet he indicates his confidence that such evidence does not exist, thus reinforcing the validity of evolutionary explanations in biology.
Themes
EvolutionScienceTheoryBiologyChange
In practice
Example use cases
In a classroom discussion about the principles of evolution, this quote could help illustrate the importance of gradual changes in organisms.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes →The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
Charles DarwinRead
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.
Charles DarwinRead
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.
Charles DarwinRead
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
Charles DarwinRead
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
Charles DarwinRead
Similar quotes
Never will the doctrine of spontaneous generation recover from the mortal blow struck by this simple experiment.
Louis PasteurRead
That is the logical tight-rope on which we have to walk if we wish to interpret nature.
Richard P. FeynmanRead
[Bacteria are the] dark matter of the biological world [with 4 million mostly unknown species in a ton of soil].
E. O. WilsonRead
What attracted me to immunology was that the whole thing seemed to revolve around a very simple experiment: take two different antibody molecules and compare their primary sequences. The secret of antibody diversity would emerge from that. Fortunately at the time I was sufficiently ignorant of the subject not to realise how naive I was being.
Cesar MilsteinRead
This [climate change] is potentially so dangerous that we have to act strongly. Do we want to play Russian roulette with two bullets or one?
Nicholas SternRead
I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in financial history.
Niall FergusonRead