The 95 best phrases of Charles Darwin
Without a doubt, Charles Darwin has been one of the important characters in history. His Theory of Evolution has constituted one of the main contributions that has been given to science. His way of explaining the origin of species caused a great revolution since most of the Western scientists had the idea that God was responsible for the creation of all creatures. But Darwin shed light on a world that was still dark.
- We recommend you read: "The 90 best phrases and reflections of renowned scientists"
Famous quotes from Charles Darwin
To learn a little more about this scientist, we leave you these 95 famous quotes by Charles Darwin.
1. Music awakens in us various emotions, but not the most terrible, but rather sweet thoughts of tenderness and love.
Music has a relaxing effect on people.
2. My mistake was a good lesson that taught me never to trust the exclusion principle in science.
Mistakes can become the beginning of our success.
3. An American monkey, an ateles, who got drunk on brandy, could never again be made to try it again, in which he acted with greater sanity than many men.
For Darwin, the human being does not learn from his mistakes. Animals, yes.
4. There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties.
Darwin believed that man and animals possess the same level of intelligence.
5. I am not fit to blindly follow the example of other men.
It is important that we find our uniqueness.
6. We stopped looking for monsters under the bed when we realized they were inside us.
The fears are not outside, but in ourselves.
7. The blush is the most peculiar and human expression of all.
Feeling shame comes naturally to human beings.
8. If there are no doubts, there is no progress.
In all progress the figure of doubt is fundamental.
9. We are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only with the truth insofar as our reason allows us to discover.
The truth always brings a fear with it that we want to avoid hearing.
10. Great is the power of constant misrepresentation.
The human being is a specialist in changing the correct interpretation of things.
11. The mystery of the beginning of all things is unsolvable.
Knowing truly how life began causes us curiosity and bewilderment.
12. With savagery, the weaknesses of the body and mind are quickly eliminated.
Sometimes it is necessary to take drastic measures to combat the negatives in life.
13. Love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of man.
Loving animals makes us more human.
14. I am a firm believer that without speculation there is no good and original observation.
This phrase invites us to reflect before doing things.
15. It is a curse for every man to be as absorbed in any subject as I am in mine.
It never hurts to learn a new skill.
16. History repeats itself. It is one of the mistakes in history.
Life is a circle where everything is repeated over and over again.
17. A scientist man should not have desires or affections, just a simple heart of stone.
There is a stigma that scientists cannot be emotional.
18. I love silly experiments. I am always doing them.
A sample of the infantile curiosity that the scientist still maintains.
19. In the future I see more open fields for further research.
The research world is gaining more and more ground.
20. The very essence of instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.
There are times when it is necessary to listen to our instincts.
21. There is no fundamental difference between man and animals, in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery.
Animals also have the ability to feel and express feelings.
22. In the long history of humanity (and animals as well) those who learned to collaborate and improvise in the most effective way have prevailed.
Teamwork pays off.
23. Although the dovecote, which is the wild one in a very slightly altered state, has managed in some places to return to this primitive state.
Every domesticated animal has its natural instinct.
24. My mind seems to have become a kind of machine designed to thwart general laws on the basis of large amounts of facts.
A sample of how the scientist saw his mind.
25. I have no doubt that, on the whole, my works have been over and over again valued.
This phrase speaks of the humility of this great scientist.
26. A man's friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.
Friendship is a treasure to cherish.
27. A man who dares to waste an hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
Life is so precious that not even a second has to be wasted.
28. I became a kind of machine to observe facts and draw conclusions.
On many occasions we become a kind of machine to be able to do many things at the same time.
29. Man selects only for his own good.
Nature only for the being she cares for: We should not seek only our own benefit.
30. It is not the strongest, nor the most intelligent species that survives. It is the one that best adapts to change.
It is necessary to adapt to the changes that arise in our way to improve.
31. I see no good reason why the views in this volume can shock anyone's religious views.
For Darwin, science has nothing to do with religion.
32. Killing a mistake is as good a service, sometimes even better, than establishing a new truth or fact.
It is more important to solve a problem than to be right about everything.
33. The tropical climate suits me admirably well; it makes me long to live quietly for a while.
Phrase that indicates the love that Darwin felt for nature.
34. Free will is to mind what chance is to matter.
Each person has the power to choose.
35. The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we must control our thoughts.
You always have to be careful with your thoughts, as they can be double-edged weapons.
36. At last I fell asleep on the grass and was able to wake up with the singing of the birds above my head.
It is necessary to take care of nature to preserve its beauty.
37. Mathematics seems to give one a new meaning.
It refers to the importance of mathematics in life.
38. The social instinct guides animals to enjoy the society of their fellow men.
Living in community makes us stronger.
39. It is always advisable to clearly perceive our ignorance.
Recognizing that we ignore many things makes us humble.
40. However, we must acknowledge, as it seems to me, that man with all his noble qualities... still bears on his body the indelible stamp of his humble origin.
We all have the ability to engender noble feelings.
41. Intelligence is based on how efficient species become in doing the things they need to survive.
We survive thanks to our intelligence.
42. Animals, whom we have made our slaves, do not like to consider them our equals.
Animals and humans must live in harmony.
43. The shield is as important to winning as the sword and the spear.
Defeating our insecurities is the main thing before overcoming external obstacles.
44. I tried to read Shakespeare too late, so much so that it made me nauseous.
Darwin was not a fan of classical literature.
45. It is so obvious that good and bad qualities are inherited.
We inherit negative as well as positive things from our ancestors.
46. If I had my life to live again, I would have set a rule to read some poetry and listen to music at least once every week.
It is necessary to find a time to entertain ourselves.
47. How primordial the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children.
Children bring a unique energy and joy that is contagious.
48. Humanity tends to increase at a rate greater than its means of subsistence.
A reference to overpopulation.
49. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble for us; and I, for one, must be content to remain an agnostic.
Talking about Darwin's atheism.
50. Beauty is the result of sexual selection.
His personal opinion on beauty.
51. Ignorance often breeds confidence more often than knowledge: they are those who know little, and not those who know a lot, who claim that this or that problem will never be solved by the science.
Ignorance has its toxic networks that manage to grow.
52. The man is descended from a hairy, tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in his habitat.
Phrase that refers to the origin of man.
53. In conclusion, it seems that nothing can be better for a young naturalist than a trip to distant countries.
A job that needs to know thousands of corners in the world.
54. A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and his motives, of approving some and disapproving of others.
Our morality can also be a double-edged sword.
55. Actually, I doubt that compassion is a natural or an innate quality.
Comparisons are not easy to accept.
56. In addition to love and sympathy, animals exhibit other qualities related to social instincts that in us would be called moral.
Animals have the highest spirit of nobility.
57. It is quite clear that organic beings must be exposed for several generations to new conditions of life to cause an appreciable amount of variation.
Evolution occurs gradually.
58. You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
Concentration is important to stay calm.
59. I have called this principle, by which every slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of natural selection.
The ‘natural selection’, the most successful and revolutionary work of Darwin.
60. In human history, those who learn to cooperate are the ones who have prevailed.
Cooperation with others helps us grow.
61. Natural instincts are lost in a domestic state.
When we are doing nothing, we lose everything.
62. Travel allows you to discover that there are many people in the world with excellent hearts, always ready to serve you even when they have never been seen or will never meet again.
There are excellent people who have great value as humans.
63. It's hard to believe in the gruesome but quiet warfare lurking just below the serene facade of nature.
Nature is also a victim of wars.
64. At some point in the not too distant future, measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly be exterminated, and will be replaced by savage races throughout the world.
A terrible prediction for humanity.
65. Any being that during the natural course of its life produces several eggs or seeds has to suffer destruction during some period of its life.
To be successful you have to fall a few times.
66. We have not obtained any scientific explanation for the ordinary view that each of the species has been created independently.
Life is not the product of an independent creation, but of a set of various circumstances.
67. How easy we hide our ignorance behind the phrase "the plan of creation."
Creation is one of the most passionate subjects in science.
68. If as I believe my theory is true and if it is accepted even by a competent judge, it will be a considerable step in science.
Darwin's works have had great relevance to history.
69. How fleeting are the desires and efforts of man! How short his time!
Man is not eternal.
70. Little by little I stopped believing that Christianity was a divine revelation. The fact that many false religions spread like wildfire across much of the Earth had some influence on me.
Reference to religion.
71. In the fight for survival, the strongest wins at the expense of his rivals because he manages to better adapt to his surroundings.
If we adapt to our reality, we can face anything.
72. The surgeon is capable of injuring himself while he operates, for he knows that he is doing good to his patient.
He who thinks of the benefit of others, he can consider himself a human being.
73. Sexual selection is less rigorous than natural selection.
Talk about the importance of natural selection.
74. I die slowly because I have no one to talk to about insects.
Having someone to share our passions with is something important.
75. When it was said for the first time that the sun remained fixed and that the world rotated, the common sense of mankind declared the doctrine false; but the old saying "vox populi, vox Dei", as every philosopher knows, cannot be trusted to science.
We must not get carried away by the opinions of others.
76. If the misery of the poor is not caused by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.
Poverty is the direct work of man.
77. It is the weakest members of a society who tend to propagate their species.
A reference to the irresponsibility of people without resources to bring into the world children they cannot support.
78. Insects, like me, are misunderstood by the majority.
Darwin believed that the weakest are those who have no chance of getting ahead.
79. I love insects.
Charles Darwin had great love and respect for these animals.
80. We can allow satellites, planets, suns and universes to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish it had been created by a divine act.
We focus on the great things and lose sight of the lesser ones.
81. A general law, which leads to the advancement of all organic beings, that is, to multiply, is to vary, to let the strongest live and the weakest die.
Those people who adapt to change are the ones who go far.
82. I have not the slightest fear of dying.
Death is a taboo subject for many people.
83. Freedom of thought is promoted by the gradual enlightenment of the minds of men who follow the advance of science.
Each person must have freedom of expression.
84. Natural selection, as we shall see later, is a force always ready for action and so immeasurably superior to the feeble efforts of man as the works of nature are to the Of art.
Talking about the fortune and permanence of the strong over the weak.
85. False facts are highly detrimental to the progress of science, because they often last a long time; but false opinions, if supported by any evidence, do little harm, since everyone takes a healthy pleasure in proving his falsehood.
The lie has taken over life.
86. I cannot convince myself that a benevolent and omnipotent God would have created in a designed way Parasitic wasps with the express intention of feeding inside the living bodies of the Caterpillars
Touching on the issue of creation at the hands of God.
87. In the ordinary view of each independently created species, we do not get any scientific explanation.
Talking about the creation of the species.
88. Man tends to grow faster than his means of subsistence.
It is common to want to cover more than we can take.
89. If someone wants to win a good opinion of his fellow man, he should do what I do, bother him with letters.
Staying in communication with other people is essential for coexistence.
90. If they were all cast in the same mold, there would be no such thing as beauty.
A critique of the praise of superficial beauty.
91. Any being that during the natural course of its life produces several eggs or seeds has to suffer destruction during some period of its life.
We are born, we grow, we develop, we mature and we die. it is the law of life.
92. I dare not say that animals are governed solely by selfish motives. Look at the maternal instincts and even more so at the social instincts. How disinterested a dog is!
Animals have better feelings than many people.
93. I have called this principle, by which every little variation, if useful, is conserved, by the term Natural Selection.
Name with which he baptized his work.
94. I think everything I learned, of whatever value, was self-taught.
A sample of the importance of being self-taught.
95. Existence is a term of evolution.
Existence needs evolution.