---
title: "3 Comforting Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould"
description: "3 Comforting quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Comforting sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/stephen-jay-gould-885_comforting_always-be-suspicious-of-conclusions-that_1391995.png"
---

> [Always be suspicious of conclusions that reinforce uncritical hope and follow comforting traditions of Western thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/always-be-suspicious-of-conclusions-that-reinforce-uncritical-hope/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d33/stephen-jay-gould-885_comforting_always-be-suspicious-of-conclusions-that_1391995.png)

> [I despair of persuading people to drop the familiar and comforting tactic of dichotomy. Perhaps, instead, we might expand the framework of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-despair-of-persuading-people-to-drop-the-familiar-and-comforting/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0b/stephen-jay-gould-885_appropriate_i-despair-of-persuading-people-to-drop-t_2193965.png)

> [Perhaps I am just a hopeless rationalist, but isn't fascination as comforting as solace? Isn't nature immeasurably more interesting for its complexities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/perhaps-i-am-just-a-hopeless-rationalist-but-isn-t-fascination-as/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-jay-gould-885_comforting_perhaps-i-am-just-a-hopeless-rationalist_2240816.jpg)

## Other authors on Comforting

- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-green-51499.jpg) John Green 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/john-green/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-bertrand-russell-17477.jpg) Bertrand Russell 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/bertrand-russell/)

## 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/)

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