--- title: "5 Internals Quotes By Stephen Jay Gould" description: "5 Internals quotes by Stephen Jay Gould. Plus more from Stephen Jay Gould and more Internals 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) > [The intricate and different life cycles of both male and female root-heads, and the great behavioral sophistication shown by the female in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/the-intricate-and-different-life-cycles-of-both-male-and-female-root/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ea/stephen-jay-gould-885_adults_the-intricate-and-different-life-cycles_681931.png) > [Among people I have met, the few whom I would term “great” all share a kind of unquestioned, fierce dedication; an utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/among-people-i-have-met-the-few-whom-i-would-term-great-all-share-a/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/stephen-jay-gould-885_activity_among-people-i-have-met-the-few-whom-i-w_1743710.png) > [A complete theory of evolution must acknowledge a balance between "external" forces of environment imposing selection for local adaptation and "internal" forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/a-complete-theory-of-evolution-must-acknowledge-a-balance-between/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a7/stephen-jay-gould-885_acknowledge_a-complete-theory-of-evolution-must-ackn_1852389.jpg) > [Any decent writer writes because there's some deep internal need to keep learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/any-decent-writer-writes-because-there-s-some-deep-internal-need-to/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/stephen-jay-gould-885_decent_any-decent-writer-writes-because-there-s_1864027.png) ## Other authors on Internals ## 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/internals/stephen-jay-gould/#itemlist", "name": "5 Internals 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. 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Vavilov placed too much emphasis on internal constraints and downgraded the power of selection. 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