--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the last few decades, mankind has…" description: "\"In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly against the law of natural selection. We haven't just maintained life unworthy of life, we have ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png" --- # In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly… ![“In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly against the law of natural selection. We haven't just maintained life unworthy of life, we have even allowed it to multiply.” quote by David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png) > “In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly against the law of natural selection. We haven't just maintained life unworthy of life, we have even allowed it to multiply.” [David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human activity violates natural selection, creating life deemed unworthy and proliferating it. **In simple terms:** Human actions defy natural selection, producing excess life. Key Takeaway Consider ethical limits of human impact on nature. Themes ethics environment biology Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - policy making - conservation - population control Key Concepts natural selection anthropogenic impact Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do we have toward ecosystems? - How should we balance human needs with natural limits? A Different Perspective The claim mixes moral judgment with scientific concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Natural selection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-selection/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [“Pity thwarts the whole law of evolution, which is the law of natural selection. It preserves whatever is ripe for destruction;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pity-thwarts-the-whole-law-of-evolution-which-is-the-law-of-natural/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“All that anybody has in the way of a reputation anymore is an odor which, from birth to death, cannot be modified. People are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-that-anybody-has-in-the-way-of-a-reputation-anymore-is-an-odor/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Natural selection is anything but random.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/natural-selection-is-anything-but-random/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Thus, as I believe, natural selection will tend in the long run to reduce any part of the organisation, as soon as it becomes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/thus-as-i-believe-natural-selection-will-tend-in-the-long-run-to/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-survival-or-preservation-of-certain-favoured-words-in-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Animals can adapt to problems and make inventions, but often no faster than natural selection can do its work - the world acts as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/animals-can-adapt-to-problems-and-make-inventions-but-often-no-faster/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“The earliest form of natural selection was simply a selection of stable forms and a rejection of unstable ones. There is no mystery about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-earliest-form-of-natural-selection-was-simply-a-selection-of/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Christians who engaged in infamous persecutions and shameful inquisitions were not evil men but misguided men. The churchmen who felt they had an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-christians-who-engaged-in-infamous-persecutions-and-shameful/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Ultimately, of course, you must decide for yourself whether the subjective psychological effects created by your evolved cognitive biases reflect an objective reality, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-bering/ultimately-of-course-you-must-decide-for-yourself-whether-the/) [Jesse Bering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-bering/) > [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/) > [I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. In other words, I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-langan/i-believe-in-the-theory-of-evolution-but-i-believe-as-well-in-the/) [Christopher Langan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-langan/) > [. . . by natural selection our mind has adapted itself to the conditions of the external world. It has adopted the geometry most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-poincare/by-natural-selection-our-mind-has-adapted-itself-to-the-conditions-of/) [Henri Poincare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-poincare/) > [The right to live does not connote the right of each man to reproduce his kind ... As we lessen the stringency of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-right-to-live-does-not-connote-the-right-of-each-man-to-reproduce/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) ## More by David Klinghoffer > [The world is aware how jealously the Jewish community guards the Holocaust, both as a memory and a weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/the-world-is-aware-how-jealously-the-jewish-community-guards-the/) [David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) > [“The problem with ID, of course, is that it leaves open the possibility that the intelligence behind nature may have a moral interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/the-problem-with-id-of-course-is-that-it-leaves-open-the-possibility/) [David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) > [No authentic Messiah would inspire a religion that ended up calling upon the Jews to reject the manifest meaning of Sinai. It is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/no-authentic-messiah-would-inspire-a-religion-that-ended-up-calling/) [David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) > [Belief forms behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/belief-forms-behavior/) [David Klinghoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) [Explore all 5 David Klinghoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/) ## More Decades quotes > [Nature will eventually do what nature has always done. It will respond in a self-stabilizing manner over the long term with moderate variability over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sununu/nature-will-eventually-do-what-nature-has-always-done-it-will-respond/) John H. Sununu > [Music's free and music's for everyone to enjoy and express and interpret. It transcends countries and times and decades.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/music-s-free-and-music-s-for-everyone-to-enjoy-and-express-and/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [But we need to be very clear: because of our decades of collective denial, no gradual, incremental options are now available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/but-we-need-to-be-very-clear-because-of-our-decades-of-collective/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [It's funny, I used to say on 'That 70's Show', you could really put us in any decade, and it was about the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-prepon/it-s-funny-i-used-to-say-on-that-70-s-show-you-could-really-put-us-in/) [Laura Prepon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-prepon/) > [So a truthful assessment of how America is doing in the war on terror as a result of President Bush's war on Iraq is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-olver/so-a-truthful-assessment-of-how-america-is-doing-in-the-war-on-terror/) [John Olver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-olver/) > [... 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/) > [Nothing evades our attention as persistently as that which we take for granted... the decades roll on without even a suggestion that perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-brady/nothing-evades-our-attention-as-persistently-as-that-which-we-take/) Marion Brady > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [This bill would allow an employee to bring a claim against an employer decades after the alleged initial act of discrimination occurred. Trial lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-mckeon/this-bill-would-allow-an-employee-to-bring-a-claim-against-an/) Buck McKeon > [The greatest problem in Japanese politics over the last two decades is that we put off what needed to be done. We have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshihiko-noda/the-greatest-problem-in-japanese-politics-over-the-last-two-decades/) [Yoshihiko Noda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshihiko-noda/) Browse all 1,717 Decades quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly against the law of natural selection. We haven't just maintained life unworthy of life, we have even allowed it to multiply.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Klinghoffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinned-terribly-against-the-law/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decades" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinned-terribly-against-the-law/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ab/david-klinghoffer-61097_decades_in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinn_1757271.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the last few decades, mankind has sinned terribly against the law of natural selection. We haven't just…” — David Klinghoffer", "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": "David Klinghoffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-klinghoffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the last few decades, mankind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinned-terribly-against-the-law/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-klinghoffer/in-the-last-few-decades-mankind-has-sinned-terribly-against-the-law/#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 } } ] } ```