George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 – October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist.
Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century,...
The search for historical laws is, I maintain, mistaken in principle. George Gaylord Simpson
The search for historical laws is, I maintain, mistaken in principle.
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.
It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny. George Gaylord Simpson
It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny.
It is inherent in any definition of science that statements that cannot be checked by observation are not really saying anything or at least they are not science. George Gaylord Simpson
It is inherent in any definition of science that statements that cannot be checked by observation are not really saying anything or at least they are not science.
If a sect does officially insist that its structure of belief demands that evolution be false, then no compromise is possible. George Gaylord Simpson
If a sect does officially insist that its structure of belief demands that evolution be false, then no compromise is possible.
The means to gaining right ends involve both organic evolution and human evolution, but human choice as to what are the right ends must be based on human evolution. George Gaylord Simpson
The means to gaining right ends involve both organic evolution and human evolution, but human choice as to what are the right ends must be based on human evolution.
It remains true, as every paleontologist knows, that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of families, appear in the record suddenly and are not led up to by known. George Gaylord Simpson
It remains true, as every paleontologist knows, that most new species, genera, and families, and that nearly all categories above the level of families, appear in the record suddenly and are not led up to by known.
The earliest and most primitive known members of every order already have the basic ordinal characters, and in no case is an approximately continuous sequence from one order to another known. George Gaylord Simpson
The earliest and most primitive known members of every order already have the basic ordinal characters, and in no case is an approximately continuous sequence from one order to another known.
Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man. George Gaylord Simpson
Most of the dogmatic religions have exhibited a perverse talent for taking the wrong side on the most important concepts in the material universe, from the structure of the solar system to the origin of man.
Human judgment is notoriously fallible and perhaps seldom more so than in facile decisions that a character has no adaptive significance because we do not know the use of it. George Gaylord Simpson
Human judgment is notoriously fallible and perhaps seldom more so than in facile decisions that a character has no adaptive significance because we do not know the use of it.
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.
Man is the result of a purposeless and materialistic process that did not have him in mind. He was not planned. He is a state of matter, a form of life, a sort of animal, and a species of the Order Primates, akin nearly or remotely to all of life. George Gaylord Simpson
Man is the result of a purposeless and materialistic process that did not have him in mind. He was not planned. He is a state of matter, a form of life, a sort of animal, and a species of the Order Primates, akin nearly or remotely to all of life.
