The 70 Best Phrases And Reflections Of Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin (1809 – 1882) was and is a renowned English naturalist, famous for being the father of the Theory of Evolution through natural selection.
This theory is studied and has wide acceptance today, leading Darwin’s studies to be studied in a large number of countries. He is possibly one of the best examples to follow in the world of science, along with great scientists such as Newton, Hawking or Einstein.
We have all heard about this scientist at some point, but how many of us have read his own words in first person? Below you can enjoy the 70 best phrases and reflections of Charles Darwin with which you will surely learn a lot about him.
10. We stopped looking for monsters under the bed when we realized they were inside us.
The greatest monsters that human beings face are within themselves.
11. A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives, approving of some and disapproving of others.
The human being is the only animal that can judge its own actions once they are in the past.
12. Killing an error is as good a service, and sometimes even better, as the establishment of a new truth or fact.
We must not be persistent in our mistakes, we must learn from them so as not to make them again.
13. It’s hard to believe in the gruesome but peaceful war lurking just beneath nature’s serene façade.
Nature may seem calm, but if we know how to look deeply we can see that it is a battle in constant development.
14. We do not like to consider the animals, whom we have made our slaves, our equals.
Human beings consider themselves superior to any other animal, when in reality they are just another link in the evolutionary chain.
15. Mathematics seems to give one a new meaning.
Mathematics allows human beings to develop new forms of scientific and technological innovation.
16. In addition to love and sympathy, animals exhibit other qualities related to social instincts that we would call morality.
We must be more humane and value animals in a way that is much more honest with our own ideals.
17. Without a doubt there is no progress.
All progress is given by an original doubt.
18. At some point in the not-too-distant future, measured by centuries, the civilized races of man will almost certainly be exterminated, and replaced by savage races throughout the world.
Human beings are unfortunately headed towards their own self-destruction.
19. I became a kind of machine for observing facts and drawing conclusions.
Darwin was well versed in the scientific method and devoted large periods of time to observing the natural environment.
20. We have not obtained any scientific explanation for the ordinary view that each of the species has been created independently.
This scientist’s famous theory clashed, and still does, head-on with the theory of creation.
21. Little by little I stopped believing that Christianity was a divine revelation. The fact that many false religions spread like wildfire in much of the Earth had some influence on me.
As a scientist, Darwin clearly questioned the Christian religion itself, since his way of thinking clashed with said religion.
22. In the fight for survival, the strongest wins at the expense of their rivals because they manage to adapt better to their environment.
Knowing how to adapt more efficiently to problems will undoubtedly lead us towards their best resolution.
23. With savagery, weaknesses of body and mind are quickly eliminated.
The human being is the only animal that has developed a truly advanced society, banishing savagery from it.
24. The surgeon is capable of hurting himself while operating, because he knows that he is doing good to his patient.
Medicine is one of the greatest forces that human beings possess, there is no doubt about that.
25. The shield is as important to win as the sword and the spear.
A good defense can be the best of attacks.
26. Sexual selection is less rigorous than natural selection.
Living beings tend to reproduce to a large extent, since we are designed for that purpose.
27. I die slowly because I have no one to talk to about insects.
Darwin felt greatly misunderstood in the society where he lived, this quote attests to this.
28. I love insects.
Darwin’s love of insects will endure forever in his studies.
29. How easy we hide our ignorance behind the phrase “the plan of creation.”
Religion was created largely to give logical meaning to those things that human beings did not understand.
30. It is quite clear that organic beings must be exposed over several generations to new living conditions to cause an appreciable amount of variation.
Living beings adapt and evolve, especially as a result of the adversities to which they are exposed.
31. Insects, like me, are misunderstood by most.
Insects may perhaps be the greatest misunderstood of creation.
32. Finally I fell asleep on the grass and was able to wake up to the birds singing above my head.
This scientist was undoubtedly a great lover of nature.
33. Man selects for his own good, nature does so for the common good.
Natural selection takes great care of all its members, nature itself needs all of them for its correct functioning.
34. In the future I see more open fields for other research.
Surely this famous naturalist would greatly enjoy the latest technological advances in the field of research.
35. In the history of humanity, those who learn to cooperate are the ones who have prevailed.
Acting in a group allows us to be more efficient and obtain a much more satisfactory result.
36. It is the weakest members of a society who tend to propagate their species.
The “in quotes” weakest members of a society can also be the most valuable link.
37. It is a demonic curse for any man to be absorbed in any matter as I have been.
All the great geniuses, including Darwin, have been seriously absorbed by their discoveries.
38. My mistake was a good lesson that taught me never to trust the exclusion principle in the scientific field.
All great discoveries are the result of some type of error.
39. I have no doubt that, as a whole, my works have been overrated again and again.
In this quote we can see the great humility that this scientist displayed throughout his life.
40. I am a firm believer that without speculation there is no good and original observation.
In order to get to the bottom of any matter, we must first explore all the ins and outs that it hides from us.
41. The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble for us; and for my part I must be content to remain agnostic.
Darwin, as he explains very well in this quote, was a convinced agnostic.
42. Favorable individual variations and differences, and the destruction of those that are harmful, is what we have called “natural selection” or “survival of the fittest.”
Those specimens that best adapt to their natural environment are the ones that prevail.
43. A man of science should have no desires or affections, but a mere heart of stone.
In order to carry out purely scientific work, we must put our emotions aside.
44. Man is descended from a bushy-tailed quadruped, probably arboreal in its habits.
Today we know that all mammals come from a common ancestor, an ancestral animal similar to a rat.
45. In conclusion, it seems that nothing can be better for a young naturalist than a trip to distant countries.
To discover new species, naturalists are forced to make long journeys, often to the edge of civilization.
46. There is no fundamental difference between man and animals, in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery.
All animals, like humans, feel, suffer and suffer.
47. I love silly experiments. I’m always making them.
The most relevant conclusions can be drawn from the silliest experiments.
48. I have called this principle, by which every slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term of natural selection.
Natural selection allows us to evolve as living beings, highlighting those qualities that are most beneficial to us.
49. The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we must control our thoughts.
The power to control one’s thoughts is a power that most animals do not possess.
50. Love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of man.
As rational animals we must watch over those animals that do not have the same quality as us.
51. If the misery of the poor is not caused by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.
The human being is the biggest predator that he himself suffers, we tend to harm each other.
52. The very essence of instinct is that it is followed independently of reason.
Our instincts are capable of giving us a solution to a problem much faster and more effectively than our reason.
53. Ignorance often breeds confidence more often than knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who claim that this or that problem will never be solved by science.
Ignorance is an evil that has always harmed human beings, since those who suffer from it are not able to realize that they are carriers.
54. It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor is it the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that best adapts to change.
In this quote we see how Darwin gives a twist to the famous belief that the strongest or most intelligent survives, they are simply the best adapted.
55. I tried to read Shakespeare too late, so late that it made me nauseous.
Without a doubt this famous scientist was not a great admirer of William Shakespeare.
56. Free will is to the mind what chance is to matter.
Free will and chance have certain traits in common.
57. You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
If we are not concentrated we will not be able to understand what our own eyes see.
58. A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth.
Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are, our friendships often define us.
59. A man who dares to waste an hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
We should never waste time, it is the most valuable asset available to human beings.
60. Natural selection, as we will see later, is a force always ready for action and as immeasurably superior to the weak efforts of man as the works of nature are to those of art.
Human beings are not exempt from natural selection, they also suffer the designs of this famous law of nature.
61. When it was first said that the sun remained fixed and the world rotated, the common sense of humanity declared the doctrine false; but the old saying “vox populi, vox Dei”, as every philosopher knows, cannot be entrusted to science.
We must think for ourselves and not get carried away by what the majority thinks.
62. An American monkey, an Ateles, who got drunk on cognac, could never be made to taste it again, in which he acted with greater sanity than many men.
Animals are quicker to learn from their mistakes than humans, we dwell on our mistakes.
63. History repeats itself. That is one of the mistakes of history.
Human beings must learn from history, so as not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.
64. It is so evident that good and bad qualities are hereditary.
Indeed, the best and worst qualities of our ancestors will shape us as individuals.
65. We do not like to consider the animals we have made our slaves as our equals.
Human beings have the absurd belief that they are a type of “superior entity” to the rest of the animal world, when in reality this is not the case.
66. The mystery of the beginning of all things is unsolvable to us.
How the universe was formed is a question that still assails us today.
67. Actually, I doubt that compassion is a natural or innate quality.
Compassion is a quality that takes a long time for human beings to understand and value.
68. The tropical climate suits me admirably; It makes me long to live in peace for some time.
The tropical climate is very benign for many people, the heat and good weather affect us all positively.
69. Although the dovecote pigeon, which is the wild one in a very slightly altered state, has managed in some places to return to said primitive state.
Certain domesticated animals have the ability to return to their wild state in a short period of time.
70. There is no fundamental difference between man and higher animals in their mental faculties.
Human beings simply have a different adaptation to the environment that surrounds them, but at the end of the day we are just another species of primate.
