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It is mere rubbish thinking, at present, of origin of life; one might as well think of origin of matter.
Charles Darwin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that contemplating the origins of life is as futile as considering the origins of matter, implying limits to our understanding.

In this quote, Charles Darwin reflects on the complexities and challenges inherent in understanding the origins of life. He implies that just as pondering the beginning of matter leads to questions beyond human comprehension, so too does the exploration of life's origin. This assertion serves to highlight the boundaries of human knowledge and the limitations of current scientific inquiry into existential origins.

Themes

OriginLifeMatterUnderstandingKnowledge

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a scientific discussion about the limits of our understanding of life.

More from Charles Darwin

Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
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The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.
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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.
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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.
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I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
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we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
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