Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Darwin acknowledges that his theories may not be fully supported by empirical evidence and are imperfect.
In this quote, Charles Darwin reflects on the tentative nature of his hypotheses regarding evolution. He admits that while his ideas have merit, they are riddled with flaws and uncertainties, highlighting the importance of continual questioning and refinement in the pursuit of scientific understanding.
Themes
ScienceHypothesisUncertaintyTheoryEvolution
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on the nature of scientific inquiry, one might say this quote to illustrate the tentative character of scientific knowledge.
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
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
I am not the least afraid to die
Charles DarwinRead
Similar quotes
Creationist critics often charge that evolution cannot be tested, and therefore cannot be viewed as a properly scientific subject at all. This claim is rhetorical nonsense.
Stephen Jay GouldRead
After a while, another voice said: One, two, three, four- And the universe came into being. It was wrong to call it a big bang. That would just be noise, and all that noise could create is more noise and a cosmos full of random particles. Matter exploded into being, apparently as chaos, but in fact as a chord. The ultimate power chord.
Terry PratchettRead
Economics has never been a science - and it is even less now than a few years ago.
Paul SamuelsonRead
Universe consists of frozen light.
David BohmRead
If such a thing had happened once, it must surely have happened many times in this galaxy of a hundred billion suns.
Arthur C. ClarkeRead
There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.
Lord KelvinRead