---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Natural Selection never made it come to…"
description: "\"Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit of nature, that an unsupported stone should move downwards rather than upwards. It applies to ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg"
---

#  Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit…

![“Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit of nature, that an unsupported stone should move downwards rather than upwards. It applies to no part of inorganic nature, and is very limited even in the phenomena of organic life.” quote by Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg)

> “Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit of nature, that an unsupported stone should move downwards rather than upwards. It applies to no part of inorganic nature, and is very limited even in the phenomena of organic life.”

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He argues that natural selection does not apply to inanimate objects moving upward; it is limited to living organisms

**In simple terms:** Natural selection only works for living things, not rocks moving up

Key Takeaway

Recognize limits of biological explanations for physical phenomena

Themes

science limitations biology

Mood

analytical skeptical

Type

philosophical scientific

When to use this quote

- geology
- mechanics
- biology research
- education

Key Concepts

Evolutionary theory physics

Questions to Reflect On

- Can we apply biological concepts to non‑living systems?
- Where do we draw the line between biology and physics?

A Different Perspective

Biology cannot explain all natural processes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Inorganic Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inorganic-nature-2617776/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Unsupported](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-unsupported-3900141/) [Organic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organic-life/) [Selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selection/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stone Downwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stone-downwards-3900143/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Unsupported Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsupported-stone-3900142/)

## Related quotes

> [“Today, the 4-billion-year-old regime of natural selection is facing a completely different challenge. In laboratories throughout the world, scientists are engineering living beings. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-4-billion-year-old-regime-of-natural-selection-is-facing-a/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [This new force, which was unknown until now, is common to organic and inorganic nature. I do not believe that this is a force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jons-jacob-berzelius/this-new-force-which-was-unknown-until-now-is-common-to-organic-and/)

[Jons Jacob Berzelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jons-jacob-berzelius/)

> [“12. The Creative Force of Nature and Humanity. The innate tendency of self-preservation, which manifests itself as mechanical force or chemical affinity in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/12-the-creative-force-of-nature-and-humanity-the-innate-tendency-of/)

[Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/)

> [Mental patterns do not originate out of inorganic nature. They originate out of society, which originates out of inorganic nature. And, as anthropologists know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/mental-patterns-do-not-originate-out-of-inorganic-nature-they/)

[Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/)

> [In the range of inorganic nature. I doubt if any object can be found more perfectly beautiful than a fresh, deep snowdrift, seen under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/in-the-range-of-inorganic-nature-i-doubt-if-any-object-can-be-found/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [If consciousness is the ground of being rather than an epiphenomenon of physical processes, we may find that a basic question asked by modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/if-consciousness-is-the-ground-of-being-rather-than-an-epiphenomenon/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [Organic life, we are told, has developed gradually from the protozoon to the philosopher, and this development, we are assured, is indubitably an advance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/organic-life-we-are-told-has-developed-gradually-from-the-protozoon/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“But, mind you, it's like this; while you live your life, you are in some way an organic whole with all life. But once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/but-mind-you-it-s-like-this-while-you-live-your-life-you-are-in-some/)

[D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/)

> [Civilization and the life of nations are governed by the same laws as prevail throughout nature and organic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-haeckel/civilization-and-the-life-of-nations-are-governed-by-the-same-laws-as/)

[Ernst Haeckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-haeckel/)

> [“Age has given me what I was looking for my entire life - it has given me me . It has provided time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/age-has-given-me-what-i-was-looking-for-my-entire-life-it-has-given/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“The stronger must dominate and not mate with the weaker, which would signify the sacrifice of its own higher nature. Only the born weakling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-stronger-must-dominate-and-not-mate-with-the-weaker-which-would/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“I know some very intelligent philosophers, not at all dogmatic, who believe that “science” cannot introduce the concept of finality in the analysis and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/i-know-some-very-intelligent-philosophers-not-at-all-dogmatic-who/)

[Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/)

> [“As he scribbled his odds and ends, he made a note reaffirming his belief that art always serves beauty, and beauty is delight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-he-scribbled-his-odds-and-ends-he-made-a-note-reaffirming-his/)

[Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/)

> [“What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Is there any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein-the-world-as-i-see-it/what-is-the-meaning-of-human-life-or-of-organic-life-altogether-to/)

[Albert Einstein The World As I See It](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein-the-world-as-i-see-it/)

> [Thus the will to power strives towards oppositions, towards displeasure. There is a will to suffering at the foundation of all organic life (contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/thus-the-will-to-power-strives-towards-oppositions-towards/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More by Chauncey Wright

> [If they are, then the only ultimate truths are the particulars of concrete experience, and no postulate or general assumption is inherent in science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/if-they-are-then-the-only-ultimate-truths-are-the-particulars-of/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [Let one persuade many, and he becomes confirmed and convinced, and cares for no better evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/let-one-persuade-many-and-he-becomes-confirmed-and-convinced-and/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [A fact is a proposition of which the verification by an appeal to the primary sources of our knowledge or to experience is directand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/a-fact-is-a-proposition-of-which-the-verification-by-an-appeal-to-the/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [All observers not laboring under hallucinations of the senses are agreed, or can be made to agree, about facts of sensible experience, through evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/all-observers-not-laboring-under-hallucinations-of-the-senses-are/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [Such evidence is not the only kind which produces belief; though positivism maintains that it is the only kind which ought to produce so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/such-evidence-is-not-the-only-kind-which-produces-belief-though/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [By what criterion... can we distinguish among the numberless effects, that are also causes, and among the causes that may, for aught we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/by-what-criterion-can-we-distinguish-among-the-numberless-effects/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [And we owe science to the combined energies of individual men of genius, rather than to any tendency to progress inherent in civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/and-we-owe-science-to-the-combined-energies-of-individual-men-of/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [The very hope of experimental philosophy, its expectation of constructing the sciences into a true philosophy of nature, is basedon induction, or, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/the-very-hope-of-experimental-philosophy-its-expectation-of/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [In the scale of life there is a gradual decline in physical variability, as the organism has gathered into itself resources for meeting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/in-the-scale-of-life-there-is-a-gradual-decline-in-physical/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [The accidental causes of science are only accidents relatively to the intelligence of a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/the-accidental-causes-of-science-are-only-accidents-relatively-to-the/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [What a fearful object a long-neglected duty gets to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/what-a-fearful-object-a-long-neglected-duty-gets-to-be/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [The pains of disconcerted or frustrated habits, and the inherent pleasure there is in following them, are motives which nature has put into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/the-pains-of-disconcerted-or-frustrated-habits-and-the-inherent/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [Science asks no questions about the ontological pedigree or a priori character of a theory, but is content to judge it by its performance;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/science-asks-no-questions-about-the-ontological-pedigree-or-a-priori/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [The questions of philosophy proper are human desires and fears and aspirations - human emotions - taking an intellectual form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/the-questions-of-philosophy-proper-are-human-desires-and-fears-and/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

> [We receive the truths of science by compulsion. Nothing but ignorance is able to resist them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/we-receive-the-truths-of-science-by-compulsion-nothing-but-ignorance/)

[Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

[Explore all 16 Chauncey Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/)

## More Evolution quotes

> [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/)

[Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/)

> [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/)

[David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/)

> [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/)

[Giulio Natta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giulio-natta/)

> [“Genetics is a science full of gods, Mr. Sanchez.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-luiselli/genetics-is-a-science-full-of-gods-mr-sanchez/)

[Valeria Luiselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-luiselli/)

> [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/)

[Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/)

> [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/)

[Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/)

> [The fact -- not theory -- that evolution has occurred and the Darwinian theory as to how it occurred have become so confused in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gaylord-simpson/the-fact-not-theory-that-evolution-has-occurred-and-the-darwinian/)

[George Gaylord Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gaylord-simpson/)

> [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/)

[Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/)

> [Evolution happens in jumps, very rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-ferguson/evolution-happens-in-jumps-very-rapidly/)

[Marilyn Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-ferguson/)

> [The true nature of soul is right knowledge, right faith and right conduct. The soul, so long as it is subject to transmigration, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/the-true-nature-of-soul-is-right-knowledge-right-faith-and-right/)

[Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/)

> [“Toshiaki learned that all living organisms were governed by their DNA. He was impressed by perfection of this system.Why did existence have the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideaki-sena/toshiaki-learned-that-all-living-organisms-were-governed-by-their-dna/)

[Hideaki Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideaki-sena/)

> [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/)

[Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/)

> [I'm all about evolution. I'm the first person to judge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/i-m-all-about-evolution-i-m-the-first-person-to-judge-myself/)

[The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/)

> [The next evolution of content marketing is not more content; it's better distribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-penn/the-next-evolution-of-content-marketing-is-not-more-content-it-s/)

[Chris Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-penn/)

[Browse all 6,185 Evolution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit of nature, that an unsupported stone should move downwards rather than upwards. It applies to no part of inorganic nature, and is very limited even in the phenomena of organic life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Chauncey Wright"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to-pass-as-a-habit-of-nature/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Evolution"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to-pass-as-a-habit-of-nature/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bd/chauncey-wright-32080_habit_natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to_2056387.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Natural Selection never made it come to pass, as a habit of nature, that an unsupported stone should move…” — Chauncey Wright",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Chauncey Wright",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Natural Selection never made it come...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to-pass-as-a-habit-of-nature/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/natural-selection-never-made-it-come-to-pass-as-a-habit-of-nature/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
