--- title: "5 Genes Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould" description: "5 Genes quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Genes sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13d/stephen-jay-gould-885_action_there-is-no-gene-for-such-unambiguous-bi_511416.jpg" --- > [ There is no gene "for" such unambiguous bits of morphology as your left kneecap or your fingernail. \[...\] Hundreds of genes contribute… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/there-is-no-gene-for-such-unambiguous-bits-of-morphology-as-your-left/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13d/stephen-jay-gould-885_action_there-is-no-gene-for-such-unambiguous-bi_511416.jpg) > [ \[G\]enes make enzymes, and enzymes control the rates of chemical processes. Genes do not make "novelty seeking" or any other complex and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control-the-rates-of-chemical/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/stephen-jay-gould-885_behavior_g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control_1798874.png) > [Complex organisms cannot be construed as the sum of their genes, nor do genes alone build particular items of anatomy or behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as-the-sum-of-their-genes-nor/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/stephen-jay-gould-885_anatomy_complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as_1990392.jpg) > [We can now determine, easily and relatively cheaply, the detailed chemical architecture of genes ; and we can trace the products of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relatively-cheaply-the-detailed/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/stephen-jay-gould-885_animal_we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relative_2065897.jpg) > [... For Dawkins, evolution is a battle among genes, each seeking to make more copies of itself. Bodies are merely the places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among-genes-each-seeking-to-make/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/stephen-jay-gould-885_battle_for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among_2569907.png) ## Other authors on Genes ## 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/genes/stephen-jay-gould/#itemlist", "name": "5 Genes Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no gene \"for\" such unambiguous bits of morphology as your left kneecap or your fingernail. [...] Hundreds of genes contribute to the building of most body parts and their action is channeled through a kaleidoscopic series of environmental influences: embryonic and postnatal, internal and external. 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Predisposition via a long chain of complex chemical reactions, mediated through a more complex series of life's circumstances, does not equal identification or even causation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control-the-rates-of-chemical/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/stephen-jay-gould-885_behavior_g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control_1798874.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/stephen-jay-gould-885_behavior_g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control_1798874.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/stephen-jay-gould-885_behavior_g-enes-make-enzymes-and-enzymes-control_1798874.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[G]enes make enzymes, and enzymes control the rates of chemical processes. 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We fall into a deep error, not just a harmful oversimplification, when we speak of genes \"for\" particular items of anatomy or behavior.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as-the-sum-of-their-genes-nor/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/stephen-jay-gould-885_anatomy_complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as_1990392.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/stephen-jay-gould-885_anatomy_complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as_1990392.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9eb/stephen-jay-gould-885_anatomy_complex-organisms-cannot-be-construed-as_1990392.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Complex organisms cannot be construed as the sum of their genes, nor do genes alone build particular items…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can now determine, easily and relatively cheaply, the detailed chemical architecture of genes ; and we can trace the products of these genes ( enzymes and proteins ) as they influence the course of embryology . In so doing we have made the astounding discovery that all complex animal phyla - arthropods and vertebrates in particular - have retained, despite their half-billion years of evolutionary independence, an extensive set of common genetic blueprints for building bodies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relatively-cheaply-the-detailed/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/stephen-jay-gould-885_animal_we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relative_2065897.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/stephen-jay-gould-885_animal_we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relative_2065897.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/stephen-jay-gould-885_animal_we-can-now-determine-easily-and-relative_2065897.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can now determine, easily and relatively cheaply, the detailed chemical architecture of genes ; and we…” — Stephen Jay Gould", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "... For Dawkins, evolution is a battle among genes, each seeking to make more copies of itself. Bodies are merely the places where genes aggregate for a time ...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Jay Gould" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among-genes-each-seeking-to-make/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/stephen-jay-gould-885_battle_for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among_2569907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/stephen-jay-gould-885_battle_for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among_2569907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/054/stephen-jay-gould-885_battle_for-dawkins-evolution-is-a-battle-among_2569907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... For Dawkins, evolution is a battle among genes, each seeking to make more copies of itself. 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