Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
Charles DarwinRead
I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of Natural Selection.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Natural selection explains how useful variations in species are preserved over generations.
This quote by Charles Darwin encapsulates the idea of natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology. It suggests that in nature, the variations among individuals that are advantageous for survival and reproduction are retained and passed on to future generations, leading to gradual adaptation and evolution of species over time.
Themes
Natural SelectionEvolutionAdaptationSpeciesVariation
In practice
Example use cases
In a biology class while discussing the principles of evolution.
More from Charles Darwin
All quotes βThe 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
we are always slow in admitting any great change of which we do not see the intermediate steps
Charles DarwinRead
I am not the least afraid to die
Charles DarwinRead
Similar quotes
Scientists surely have a special responsibility. It is their ideas that form the basis of new technology. They should not be indifferent to the fruits of their ideas. They should forgo experiments that are risky or unethical.
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For anyone inclined to caricature environmental history as 'environmental determinism,' the contrasting histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti provide a useful antidote. Yes, environmental problems do constrain human societies, but the societies' responses also make a difference.
Jared DiamondRead
No new creation or destruction of matter is within the reach of chemical agency. We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence, as to create or destroy a particle of hydrogen.
John DaltonRead
Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.
Galileo GalileiRead