Ernst Walter Mayr (5 July 1904 – 3 February 2005) was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists.
He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer,...
A species is a reproductive community of populations reproductively isolated from others that occupies a specific niche in nature. Ernst Mayr
A species is a reproductive community of populations reproductively isolated from others that occupies a specific niche in nature.
The major novelty of my theory was its claim that the most rapid evolutionary change does not occur in widespread, populous species, as claimed by Most geneticists, but in small founder populations. Ernst Mayr
The major novelty of my theory was its claim that the most rapid evolutionary change does not occur in widespread, populous species, as claimed by Most geneticists, but in small founder populations.
According to the concept of transformational evolution, first clearly articulated by Lamarck, evolution consists of the gradual transformation of organisms from one condition of existence to another. Ernst Mayr
According to the concept of transformational evolution, first clearly articulated by Lamarck, evolution consists of the gradual transformation of organisms from one condition of existence to another.
No longer is a fixed object transformed, as in transformational evolution, but an entirely new start is, so to speak, made in every generation. Ernst Mayr
No longer is a fixed object transformed, as in transformational evolution, but an entirely new start is, so to speak, made in every generation.
Life is simply the reification of the process of living. Ernst Mayr
Life is simply the reification of the process of living.
Our understanding of the world is achieved more effectively by conceptual improvements than by discovery of new facts. Ernst Mayr
Our understanding of the world is achieved more effectively by conceptual improvements than by discovery of new facts.
I have the honesty to say I'm an Atheist. There is nothing that supports the idea of a personal God. Ernst Mayr
I have the honesty to say I'm an Atheist. There is nothing that supports the idea of a personal God.
Most scientific problems are far better understood by studying their history than their logic. Ernst Mayr
Most scientific problems are far better understood by studying their history than their logic.
The history of science knows scores of instances where an investigator was in the possession of all the important facts for a new theory but simply failed to ask the right questions. Ernst Mayr
The history of science knows scores of instances where an investigator was in the possession of all the important facts for a new theory but simply failed to ask the right questions.