--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One must believe that every living thing…" description: "\"One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to fi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jean-baptiste-lamarck-27412_assuming_one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing_7806.jpg" --- # One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must… ![“One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to find among living species all those which are found in the fossil state, and yet one may not assume that any species has really been lost or rendered…” quote by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jean-baptiste-lamarck-27412_assuming_one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing_7806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jean-baptiste-lamarck-27412_assuming_one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing_7806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jean-baptiste-lamarck-27412_assuming_one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing_7806.jpg) > “One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to find among living species all those which are found in the fossil state, and yet one may not assume that any species has really been lost or rendered extinct.” [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Organisms undergo gradual, imperceptible transformations over time, so the fossil record is incomplete and does not prove total extinction of any species. **In simple terms:** Species change subtly; fossils are incomplete. Key Takeaway Extinction is not guaranteed by fossil gaps. Themes Gradualism Evolutionary change Fossil record limitations Species continuity Biological transformation Mood Analytical Thoughtful Type Scientific Philosophical When to use this quote - Paleontological research - Conservation assessments - Biodiversity monitoring Key Concepts Continuity Adaptation Temporal scale Practical Applications - Reevaluating extinction claims - Guiding species recovery plans Questions to Reflect On - How does incomplete fossil evidence affect our view of biodiversity loss? - What mechanisms could allow a species to persist despite apparent disappearance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assume Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assume-species-333523/) [Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Fossil State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossil-state-333520/) [Fossils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossils/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-species-333521/) [Living things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-things/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Never expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-expect/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Species Fossil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-fossil-333522/) [Species Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species-really-333524/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) ## Related quotes > [There are about 250,000 different species of fossil plants and animals known . . In spite of this large quantity of information, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-raup/there-are-about-250-000-different-species-of-fossil-plants-and/) [David M. Raup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-raup/) > [Don't assume that a species is intelligent because it produces intelligent individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/don-t-assume-that-a-species-is-intelligent-because-it-produces/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [“He then represented to himself the human species, as it really is, as a parcel of insects devouring one another on a little atom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/he-then-represented-to-himself-the-human-species-as-it-really-is-as-a/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“The living being is only a species of the dead, and a very rare species at that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-haynes/the-living-being-is-only-a-species-of-the-dead-and-a-very-rare/) [Elizabeth Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-haynes/) > [There is today a frightful disappearance of living species, be they plants or animals. And it's clear that the density of human beings has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/there-is-today-a-frightful-disappearance-of-living-species-be-they/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [The question now at issue, whether the living species are connected with the extinct by a common bond of descent, will best be cleared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/the-question-now-at-issue-whether-the-living-species-are-connected/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [The living is a species of the dead; and not a very attractive one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-living-is-a-species-of-the-dead-and-not-a-very-attractive-one/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Man is the only living species that has the power to act as his own destroyer - and that is the way he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/man-is-the-only-living-species-that-has-the-power-to-act-as-his-own/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“It seems a shame that less than 1 percent of all the species that ever lived survive today and that only about 5 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-o-brien/it-seems-a-shame-that-less-than-1-percent-of-all-the-species-that/) [Stephen J. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-o-brien/) > [I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/i-should-esteem-it-the-extreme-of-imprudence-to-prolong-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [I maintain that I never expect anything, therefore Im always pleasantly surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lianne-la-havas/i-maintain-that-i-never-expect-anything-therefore-im-always/) [Lianne La Havas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lianne-la-havas/) > [Involve yourself every day. Work hard and figure out how to love acting all day, every day. It's getting into a made-up situation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goldblum/involve-yourself-every-day-work-hard-and-figure-out-how-to-love/) [Jeff Goldblum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goldblum/) > [Friends never make assumptions about you. They never expect a reason to go out with you. In fact friends only expect you to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/friends-never-make-assumptions-about-you-they-never-expect-a-reason/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [The three of us just try put our heads down and stay creative. The awards truly are just cake. It's one of those things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-scott/the-three-of-us-just-try-put-our-heads-down-and-stay-creative-the/) [Hillary Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-scott/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) ## More by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck > [All known living bodies are sharply divided into two special kingdoms, based upon the essential differences which distinguish animals from plants, and in spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/all-known-living-bodies-are-sharply-divided-into-two-special-kingdoms/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [After having produced aquatic animals of all ranks and having caused extensive variations in them by the different environments provided by the waters, nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/after-having-produced-aquatic-animals-of-all-ranks-and-having-caused/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [What nature does in the course of long periods we do every day when we suddenly change the environment in which some species of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/what-nature-does-in-the-course-of-long-periods-we-do-every-day-when/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [Habits form a second nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/habits-form-a-second-nature/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [In every animal which has not passed the limit of its development, a more frequent and continuous use of any organ gradually strengthens, develops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/in-every-animal-which-has-not-passed-the-limit-of-its-development-a/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [The form follows the function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/the-form-follows-the-function/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [A sound Physics of the Earth should include all the primary considerations of the earth's atmosphere, of the characteristics and continual changes of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/a-sound-physics-of-the-earth-should-include-all-the-primary/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [On our planet, all objects are subject to continual and inevitable changes which arise from the essential order of things. These changes take place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/on-our-planet-all-objects-are-subject-to-continual-and-inevitable/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [All knowledge that is not the real product of observation, or of consequences deduced from observation, is entirely groundless and illusory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/all-knowledge-that-is-not-the-real-product-of-observation-or-of/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [“First Law In every animal which has not passed the limit of its development, a more frequent and continuous use of any organ gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/first-law-in-every-animal-which-has-not-passed-the-limit-of-its/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [All the acquisitions or losses wrought by nature on individuals, through the influence of the environment in which their race has long been placed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/all-the-acquisitions-or-losses-wrought-by-nature-on-individuals/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [Now this circumscribed power, which we have scarcely examined, scarcely studied, this power to whose actions we nearly always attribute an intention and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/now-this-circumscribed-power-which-we-have-scarcely-examined-scarcely/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [It is not always the magnitude of the differences observed between species that must determine specific distinctions, but the constant preservation of those differences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/it-is-not-always-the-magnitude-of-the-differences-observed-between/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [However, if we consider that all the characteristics which have been cited are only differences in degree of structure, may we not suppose that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/however-if-we-consider-that-all-the-characteristics-which-have-been/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [It is not the organs-that is, the character and form of the animal's bodily parts-that have given rise to its habits and particular structures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/it-is-not-the-organs-that-is-the-character-and-form-of-the-animal-s/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) [Explore all 20 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [If we believe in the rebirth of our civilization... then clearly this renaissance must begin in the chambers of our own hearts... We cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-feuerstein/if-we-believe-in-the-rebirth-of-our-civilization-then-clearly-this/) [Georg Feuerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-feuerstein/) [Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... 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