--- title: "13 Claims Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould" description: "13 Claims quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Claims sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/stephen-jay-gould-885_argument_evolution-has-encountered-no-intellectua_1977810.png" --- > [Evolution has encountered no intellectual trouble; no new arguments have been offered. Creationism is a home-grown phenomenon of American sociocultural history-a splinter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/evolution-has-encountered-no-intellectual-trouble-no-new-arguments/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/stephen-jay-gould-885_argument_evolution-has-encountered-no-intellectua_1977810.png) > [Why, then, do I continue to claim that creationism isn't science? Simply because these relatively few statements have been tested and conclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-creationism-isn-t-science-simply/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_why-then-do-i-continue-to-claim-that-cre_1950018.png) > [The only universal attribute of scientific statements resides in their potential fallibility. If a claim cannot be disproven, it does not belong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-only-universal-attribute-of-scientific-statements-resides-in/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e7/stephen-jay-gould-885_attributes_the-only-universal-attribute-of-scientif_1414639.png) > [The essence of Darwinism lies in its claim that natural selection creates the fit. Variation is ubiquitous and random in direction. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-claim-that-natural-selection/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-cla_685257.png) > [The theory of punctuated equilibrium, proposed by Niles Eldredge and myself, is not, as so often misunderstood, a radical claim for truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-proposed-by-niles-eldredge-and/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/stephen-jay-gould-885_bedding_the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-pro_2320500.jpg) > [The basic formulation, or bare-bones mechanics, of natural selection is a disarmingly simple argument, based on three undeniable facts (overproduction of offspring,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mechanics-of-natural-selection-is/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mech_967330.jpg) > [It seems the height of antiquated hubris to claim that the universe carried on as it did for billions of years in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris-to-claim-that-the-universe/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/stephen-jay-gould-885_a-perfect-world_it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris_2411774.png) > [Skepticism's bad rap arises from the impression that, however necessary the activity, it can only be regarded as a negative removal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-impression-that-however/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/stephen-jay-gould-885_activity_skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-imp_145386.jpg) > [Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade — a secular religion masquerading as science. They claim, above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-evolution-is-an-unproved-and/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_1628549.png) > [The argument that the literal story of Genesis can qualify as science collapses on three major grounds: the creationists' need to invoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-genesis-can-qualify-as-science/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/stephen-jay-gould-885_abandon_the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-g_871113.jpg) > [ I am not \[...\] asserting that humans are either genial or aggressive by inborn biological necessity. Obviously, both kindness and violence lie… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-either-genial-or-aggressive-by/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/stephen-jay-gould-885_acts-of-kindness_i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-eithe_3109020.png) > [Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade-a secular religion masquerading as science. They claim, above all, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-evolution-is-an-unproved-and-2/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_2970393.jpg) > [ \[T\]ruly grand and powerful theories \[...\] do not and cannot rest upon single observations. Evolution is an inference from thousands of independent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-not-and-cannot-rest-upon-single/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1aa/stephen-jay-gould-885_bankruptcy_t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-no_1770112.png) ## Other authors on Claims ## More by Stephen Jay Gould > [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [History employs evolution to structure biological events in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/history-employs-evolution-to-structure-biological-events-in-time/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [... many folks take them seriously because they just 'know' that evolution can never be seen in the immediate here and now. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/many-folks-take-them-seriously-because-they-just-know-that-evolution/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record more as an embarrassment than as an aid to his theory ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/charles-darwin-viewed-the-fossil-record-more-as-an-embarrassment-than/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Zoocentrism is the primary fallacy of human sociobiology, for this view of human behavior rests on the argument that if the actions of "lower"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/zoocentrism-is-the-primary-fallacy-of-human-sociobiology-for-this/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-world-unfortunately-rarely-matches-our-hopes-and-consistently/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The true beauty of nature is her amplitude; she exists neither for nor because of us, and possesses a staying power that all our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-true-beauty-of-nature-is-her-amplitude-she-exists-neither-for-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [With copious evidence ranging from Plato's haughtiness to Beethoven's tirades, we may conclude that the most brilliant people of history tend to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/with-copious-evidence-ranging-from-plato-s-haughtiness-to-beethoven-s/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [When scientists need to explain difficult points of theory, illustration by hypothetical example - rather than by total abstraction - works well (perhaps indispensably)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/when-scientists-need-to-explain-difficult-points-of-theory/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The truly awesome intellectuals in our history have not merely made discoveries; they have woven variegated, but firm, tapestries of comprehensive coverage. The tapestries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-truly-awesome-intellectuals-in-our-history-have-not-merely-made/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I believe that we can still have a genre of scientific books suitable for and accessible alike to professionals and interested laypeople. The concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-believe-that-we-can-still-have-a-genre-of-scientific-books-suitable/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Science simply cannot adjudicate the issue of God's possible superintendence of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/science-simply-cannot-adjudicate-the-issue-of-god-s-possible/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [But if we laugh with derision, we will never understand. Human intellectual capacity has not altered for thousands of years so far as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/but-if-we-laugh-with-derision-we-will-never-understand-human/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/stephen-jay-gould/#itemlist", "name": "13 Claims Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould", "numberOfItems": 13, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Evolution has encountered no intellectual trouble; no new arguments have been offered. 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Natural selection directs the course of evolutionary change.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-claim-that-natural-selection/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-cla_685257.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-cla_685257.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/stephen-jay-gould-885_claims_the-essence-of-darwinism-lies-in-its-cla_685257.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The essence of Darwinism lies in its claim that natural selection creates the fit. Variation is ubiquitous…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The theory of punctuated equilibrium, proposed by Niles Eldredge and myself, is not, as so often misunderstood, a radical claim for truly sudden change, but a recognition that ordinary processes of speciation, properly conceived as glacially slow by the standard of our own life-span, do not resolve into geological time as long sequences of insensibly graded intermediates (the traditional, or gradualistic, view), but as geologically \"sudden\" origins at single bedding planes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-proposed-by-niles-eldredge-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/stephen-jay-gould-885_bedding_the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-pro_2320500.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/stephen-jay-gould-885_bedding_the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-pro_2320500.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/stephen-jay-gould-885_bedding_the-theory-of-punctuated-equilibrium-pro_2320500.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The theory of punctuated equilibrium, proposed by Niles Eldredge and myself, is not, as so often…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The basic formulation, or bare-bones mechanics, of natural selection is a disarmingly simple argument, based on three undeniable facts (overproduction of offspring, variation, and heritability) and one syllogistic inference (natural selection, or the claim that organisms enjoying differential reproductive success will, on average, be those variants that are fortuitously better adapted to changing local environments, and that these variants will then pass their favored traits to offspring by inheritance).", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mechanics-of-natural-selection-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mech_967330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mech_967330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb8/stephen-jay-gould-885_adapted_the-basic-formulation-or-bare-bones-mech_967330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The basic formulation, or bare-bones mechanics, of natural selection is a disarmingly simple argument, based…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems the height of antiquated hubris to claim that the universe carried on as it did for billions of years in order to form a comfortable abode for us. Chance and historical contingency give the world of life most of its glory and fascination. I sit here happy to be alive and sure that some reason must exist for \"why me?\" Or the earth might have been totally covered with water, and an octopus might now be telling its children why the eight-legged God of all things had made such a perfect world for cephalopods.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris-to-claim-that-the-universe/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/stephen-jay-gould-885_a-perfect-world_it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris_2411774.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/stephen-jay-gould-885_a-perfect-world_it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris_2411774.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/605/stephen-jay-gould-885_a-perfect-world_it-seems-the-height-of-antiquated-hubris_2411774.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems the height of antiquated hubris to claim that the universe carried on as it did for billions of…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Skepticism's bad rap arises from the impression that, however necessary the activity, it can only be regarded as a negative removal of false claims. Not so... Proper debunking is done in the interest of an alternate model of explanation, not as a nihilistic exercise. The alternate model is rationality itself, tied to moral decency--the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-impression-that-however/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/stephen-jay-gould-885_activity_skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-imp_145386.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/stephen-jay-gould-885_activity_skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-imp_145386.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/505/stephen-jay-gould-885_activity_skepticism-s-bad-rap-arises-from-the-imp_145386.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Skepticism's bad rap arises from the impression that, however necessary the activity, it can only be…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade — a secular religion masquerading as science. They claim, above all, that evolution generates no predictions, never exposes itself to test, and therefore stands as dogma rather than disprovable science. This claim is nonsense.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-evolution-is-an-unproved-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_1628549.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_1628549.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/623/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_1628549.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade — a secular religion…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The argument that the literal story of Genesis can qualify as science collapses on three major grounds: the creationists' need to invoke miracles in order to compress the events of the earth's history into the biblical span of a few thousand years; their unwillingness to abandon claims clearly disproved, including the assertion that all fossils are products of Noah's flood; and their reliance upon distortion, misquote, half-quote, and citation out of context to characterize the ideas of their opponents.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-genesis-can-qualify-as-science/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/stephen-jay-gould-885_abandon_the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-g_871113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/stephen-jay-gould-885_abandon_the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-g_871113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db0/stephen-jay-gould-885_abandon_the-argument-that-the-literal-story-of-g_871113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The argument that the literal story of Genesis can qualify as science collapses on three major grounds: the…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not [...] asserting that humans are either genial or aggressive by inborn biological necessity. Obviously, both kindness and violence lie within the bounds of our nature because we perpetrate both, in spades. I only advance a structural claim that social stability rules nearly all the time and must be based on an overwhelmingly predominant (but tragically ignored) frequency of genial acts, and that geniality is therefore our usual and preferred response nearly all the time. [...] [T]he center of human nature is rooted in ten thousand ordinary acts of kindness that define our days.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-either-genial-or-aggressive-by/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/stephen-jay-gould-885_acts-of-kindness_i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-eithe_3109020.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/stephen-jay-gould-885_acts-of-kindness_i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-eithe_3109020.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/stephen-jay-gould-885_acts-of-kindness_i-am-not-asserting-that-humans-are-eithe_3109020.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not [...] asserting that humans are either genial or aggressive by inborn biological necessity…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade-a secular religion masquerading as science. They claim, above all, that evolution generates no predictions, never exposes itself to test, and therefore stands as dogma rather than disprovable science. This claim is nonsense. We make and test risky predictions all the time; our success is not dogma, but a highly probable indication of evolution's basic truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-evolution-is-an-unproved-and-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_2970393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_2970393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e77/stephen-jay-gould-885_charades_our-creationist-detractors-charge-that-e_2970393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our creationist detractors charge that evolution is an unproved and unprovable charade-a secular religion…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[T]ruly grand and powerful theories [...] do not and cannot rest upon single observations. Evolution is an inference from thousands of independent sources, the only conceptual structure that can make unified sense of all this disparate information. The failure of a particular claim usually records a local error, not the bankruptcy of a central theory. [...] If I mistakenly identify your father's brother as your own dad, you don't become genealogically rootless and created de novo. You still have a father; we just haven't located him properly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-not-and-cannot-rest-upon-single/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1aa/stephen-jay-gould-885_bankruptcy_t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-no_1770112.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1aa/stephen-jay-gould-885_bankruptcy_t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-no_1770112.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1aa/stephen-jay-gould-885_bankruptcy_t-ruly-grand-and-powerful-theories-do-no_1770112.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[T]ruly grand and powerful theories [...] do not and cannot rest upon single observations. Evolution is an…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/stephen-jay-gould/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/stephen-jay-gould/", "name": "Claims Quotes by Stephen Jay Gould", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/stephen-jay-gould/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/stephen-jay-gould-885_argument_evolution-has-encountered-no-intellectua_1977810.png" }, "description": "13 Claims quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. 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