George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist.
Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century,...
Man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind. George Gaylord Simpson
Man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind.
An honest and competent biology teacher can only conclude that the sect's beliefs are wrong and that its religion is a false one. George Gaylord Simpson
An honest and competent biology teacher can only conclude that the sect's beliefs are wrong and that its religion is a false one.
Man stands alone in the universe, a unique product of a long, unconscious, impersonal, material process with unique understanding and potentialities. These he owes to no one but himself, and it is to himself that he is responsible. George Gaylord Simpson
Man stands alone in the universe, a unique product of a long, unconscious, impersonal, material process with unique understanding and potentialities. These he owes to no one but himself, and it is to himself that he is responsible.
Almost all paleontologists recognize that the discovery of a complete transition is in any case unlikely. George Gaylord Simpson
Almost all paleontologists recognize that the discovery of a complete transition is in any case unlikely.
The meaning that we are seeking in evolution is its meaning to us, to man. The ethics of evolution must be human ethics. It is one of the many unique qualities of man, the new sort of animal, that he is the only ethical animal. George Gaylord Simpson
The meaning that we are seeking in evolution is its meaning to us, to man. The ethics of evolution must be human ethics. It is one of the many unique qualities of man, the new sort of animal, that he is the only ethical animal.
There is no automatism that will carry him upward without choice or effort and there is no trend solely in the right direction. Evolution has no purpose; man must supply this for himself. George Gaylord Simpson
There is no automatism that will carry him upward without choice or effort and there is no trend solely in the right direction. Evolution has no purpose; man must supply this for himself.
He is not the creature of uncontrollable and undeterminable forces, but is his own master. He can and must decide and manage his own destiny. George Gaylord Simpson
He is not the creature of uncontrollable and undeterminable forces, but is his own master. He can and must decide and manage his own destiny.
The argument from absence of transitional types boils down to the striking fact that such types are always lacking unless they have been found. George Gaylord Simpson
The argument from absence of transitional types boils down to the striking fact that such types are always lacking unless they have been found.
The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in popular opinion that the distinction must be stressed. George Gaylord Simpson
The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in popular opinion that the distinction must be stressed.
To put it crudely but graphically, the monkey who did not have a realistic perception of the tree branch he jumped for was soon a dead monkey-and therefore did not become one of our ancestors. George Gaylord Simpson
To put it crudely but graphically, the monkey who did not have a realistic perception of the tree branch he jumped for was soon a dead monkey-and therefore did not become one of our ancestors.
The opposition to teaching evolution is, of course, almost always given a religious reason. That may usually be its real basis, but I think it is often a mask, perhaps unconscious, for underlying anti-intellectualism or antiscientism. George Gaylord Simpson
The opposition to teaching evolution is, of course, almost always given a religious reason. That may usually be its real basis, but I think it is often a mask, perhaps unconscious, for underlying anti-intellectualism or antiscientism.
The science of systematics has long been affected by profound philosophical preconceptions, which have been all the more influential for being usually covert, even subconscious. George Gaylord Simpson
The science of systematics has long been affected by profound philosophical preconceptions, which have been all the more influential for being usually covert, even subconscious.