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One general law, leading to the advancement of all organic beings, namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.
Charles Darwin
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Darwin's quote highlights the principle of natural selection where organisms adapt and evolve, leading to survival of the fittest.

This quote by Charles Darwin encapsulates the core concept of natural selection, which posits that in nature, organisms that can adapt to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This process leads to the gradual evolution of species as they multiply and vary over generations, while those that cannot adapt face extinction. It underscores the importance of adaptability and resilience in the natural world.

Themes

Natural SelectionEvolutionSurvivalAdaptationSpecies

In practice

Example use cases

In a biology class discussion about evolution.

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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