---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People say I am against Darwin. That is…"
description: "\"People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.\" — Lynn Margulis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png"
---

#  People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.

![“People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.” quote by Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png)

> “People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.”

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

## About This Quote

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

Accusing someone of rejecting evolution is a misunderstanding; scientific evidence supports evolution’s validity.

**In simple terms:** Evolution is scientifically supported, not a belief.

Key Takeaway

Clarify misconceptions about science.

Themes

science misinformation education

Mood

educational analytical

Type

scientific inspirational

When to use this quote

- classroom teaching
- media analysis
- policy debates
- personal discussions

Key Concepts

evolutionary biology public understanding of science

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you address scientific misconceptions?
- What evidence convinces skeptics?

A Different Perspective

People may cling to beliefs despite evidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwin/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. —Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-survive-nor-the-most/)

[Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/)

> [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/)

[Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/)

> [“In Paley's famous illustration, the adaptation of all the parts of the watch to the function, or purpose, of showing the time, is held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/in-paley-s-famous-illustration-the-adaptation-of-all-the-parts-of-the/)

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

> [Darwin has interested us in the history of nature's technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/darwin-has-interested-us-in-the-history-of-nature-s-technology/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“The funny thing is if in England, you ask a man in the street who the greatest living Darwinian is, he will say Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/the-funny-thing-is-if-in-england-you-ask-a-man-in-the-street-who-the/)

[Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/)

> [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/)

[Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/)

> [“Socrates could enjoy a banquet now and again, and must have derived considerable satisfaction from his conversations while the hemlock was taking effect, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/socrates-could-enjoy-a-banquet-now-and-again-and-must-have-derived/)

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

> [“Darwin and Nietzsche were the common spiritual and intellectual source for the mean-spirited and bellicose ideological assault on progress, liberalism, and democracy that fired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-j-mayer/darwin-and-nietzsche-were-the-common-spiritual-and-intellectual/)

Arno J. Mayer

> [Darwin himself recorded the fact that he accepted the Malthusian idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/darwin-himself-recorded-the-fact-that-he-accepted-the-malthusian-idea/)

[Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/)

> [“Mighty men of science and mighty deeds. A Newton who binds the universe together in uniform law; Lagrange, Laplace, Leibnitz with their wondrous mathematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-sanderson/mighty-men-of-science-and-mighty-deeds-a-newton-who-binds-the/)

Frederick William Sanderson

> [ \[Charles\] Darwin, for example, is the one who made us face the fact that the primary way we tell the Christ story doesn't work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/charles-darwin-for-example-is-the-one-who-made-us-face-the-fact-that/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

> [Clausius and Darwin cannot both be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-caillois/clausius-and-darwin-cannot-both-be-right/)

[Roger Caillois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-caillois/)

> [ “\[Religious belief is\] outmoded and ridiculous. \[Belief in gods was a\] worn out but once useful crutch in mankind's journey towards truth. We consider… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-w-atkins/religious-belief-is-outmoded-and-ridiculous-belief-in-gods-was-a-worn/)

[P.W. Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-w-atkins/)

> [“Darwin was a dreamer, I can assure you. No evolution or anything of the sort. For every one who can reason, I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/darwin-was-a-dreamer-i-can-assure-you-no-evolution-or-anything-of-the/)

[Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/)

> [“There is a massive, irreconcilable conflict between science and religion. Religion was humanity's original cosmology, biology and anthropology. It provided explanations for the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anderson-thomson-jr/there-is-a-massive-irreconcilable-conflict-between-science-and/)

J. Anderson Thomson Jr

## More by Lynn Margulis

> [My work more than didn't fit in. It crossed willy-nilly the boundaries that people had spent their lives building up. It hits some 30…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/my-work-more-than-didn-t-fit-in-it-crossed-willy-nilly-the-boundaries/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [“Natural selection eliminates and maybe maintains, but it doesn't create... Neo-Darwinists say that new species emerge when mutations occur and modify an organism. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/natural-selection-eliminates-and-maybe-maintains-but-it-doesn-t/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [“Possibly here in the Holocene, or just before ten or twenty thousand years ago, life hit a peek of diversity. Then we appeared. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/possibly-here-in-the-holocene-or-just-before-ten-or-twenty-thousand/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [“New mutations don't create new species; they create offspring that are impaired.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/new-mutations-don-t-create-new-species-they-create-offspring-that-are/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [All scientists agree that evolution has occurred-that all life comes from a common ancestry, that there has been extinction, and that new taxa, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/all-scientists-agree-that-evolution-has-occurred-that-all-life-comes/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [I was taught over and over again that the accumulation of random mutations led to evolutionary change - led to new species. I believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/i-was-taught-over-and-over-again-that-the-accumulation-of-random/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [Evolution is no linear family tree, but change in the single multidimensional being that has grown to cover the entire surface of Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/evolution-is-no-linear-family-tree-but-change-in-the-single/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [We are unconscious of most of our body's processes, thank goodness, because we'd screw it up if we weren't. The human body is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/we-are-unconscious-of-most-of-our-body-s-processes-thank-goodness/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [The urgency to mate persists in all people as in all other mammals because of the evolutionary drive to continue the species, the inborn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/the-urgency-to-mate-persists-in-all-people-as-in-all-other-mammals/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [Why does everybody agree that atmospheric oxygen comes from life, but no one speaks about the other gases coming from life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/why-does-everybody-agree-that-atmospheric-oxygen-comes-from-life-but/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [The fewer species there are and the fewer species we know about, the fewer questions we even know to ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/the-fewer-species-there-are-and-the-fewer-species-we-know-about-the/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [Life on earth is such a good story you cannot afford to miss the beginning... Beneath our superficial differences we are all of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/life-on-earth-is-such-a-good-story-you-cannot-afford-to-miss-the/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [The idea that we are "stewards of the earth" is another symptom of human arrogance. Imagine yourself with the task of overseeing your body's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/the-idea-that-we-are-stewards-of-the-earth-is-another-symptom-of/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [The notion of saving the planet has nothing to do with intellectual honesty or science. The fact is that the planet was here long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/the-notion-of-saving-the-planet-has-nothing-to-do-with-intellectual/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

> [People think the earth is going to die and they have to save it. Thats ridiculous. If you rid the earth of flowering plants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/people-think-the-earth-is-going-to-die-and-they-have-to-save-it-thats/)

[Lynn Margulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

[Explore all 38 Lynn Margulis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/)

## More Darwin quotes

> [One of my earliest memories is being backstage at 'Bran Nue Dae' in Darwin when I was about eight. It's such a fun, happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shari-sebbens/one-of-my-earliest-memories-is-being-backstage-at-bran-nue-dae-in/)

[Shari Sebbens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shari-sebbens/)

> [“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. —Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-survive-nor-the-most/)

[Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/)

> [One of the great issues in biology is the origin of altruism - of why you would do something for someone else that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/one-of-the-great-issues-in-biology-is-the-origin-of-altruism-of-why/)

[Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/)

> [“Darwin was a dreamer, I can assure you. No evolution or anything of the sort. For every one who can reason, I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/darwin-was-a-dreamer-i-can-assure-you-no-evolution-or-anything-of-the/)

[Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/)

> [Darwin has interested us in the history of nature's technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/darwin-has-interested-us-in-the-history-of-nature-s-technology/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [ “\[Religious belief is\] outmoded and ridiculous. \[Belief in gods was a\] worn out but once useful crutch in mankind's journey towards truth. We consider… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-w-atkins/religious-belief-is-outmoded-and-ridiculous-belief-in-gods-was-a-worn/)

[P.W. Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-w-atkins/)

> [“The funny thing is if in England, you ask a man in the street who the greatest living Darwinian is, he will say Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mayr/the-funny-thing-is-if-in-england-you-ask-a-man-in-the-street-who-the/)

[Ernst Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mayr/)

> [Clausius and Darwin cannot both be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-caillois/clausius-and-darwin-cannot-both-be-right/)

[Roger Caillois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-caillois/)

> [“In Paley's famous illustration, the adaptation of all the parts of the watch to the function, or purpose, of showing the time, is held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/in-paley-s-famous-illustration-the-adaptation-of-all-the-parts-of-the/)

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

> [ \[Charles\] Darwin, for example, is the one who made us face the fact that the primary way we tell the Christ story doesn't work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/charles-darwin-for-example-is-the-one-who-made-us-face-the-fact-that/)

[John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/)

> [“Mighty men of science and mighty deeds. A Newton who binds the universe together in uniform law; Lagrange, Laplace, Leibnitz with their wondrous mathematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-sanderson/mighty-men-of-science-and-mighty-deeds-a-newton-who-binds-the/)

Frederick William Sanderson

> [“Socrates could enjoy a banquet now and again, and must have derived considerable satisfaction from his conversations while the hemlock was taking effect, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/socrates-could-enjoy-a-banquet-now-and-again-and-must-have-derived/)

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

> [“Darwin and Nietzsche were the common spiritual and intellectual source for the mean-spirited and bellicose ideological assault on progress, liberalism, and democracy that fired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arno-j-mayer/darwin-and-nietzsche-were-the-common-spiritual-and-intellectual/)

Arno J. Mayer

> [Darwin himself recorded the fact that he accepted the Malthusian idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trofim-lysenko/darwin-himself-recorded-the-fact-that-he-accepted-the-malthusian-idea/)

[Trofim Lysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trofim-lysenko/)

> [“There is a massive, irreconcilable conflict between science and religion. Religion was humanity's original cosmology, biology and anthropology. It provided explanations for the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anderson-thomson-jr/there-is-a-massive-irreconcilable-conflict-between-science-and/)

J. Anderson Thomson Jr

[Browse all 185 Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwin/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lynn Margulis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-ridiculous/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Darwin"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-ridiculous/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c7/lynn-margulis-17073_darwin_people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-r_920927.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People say I am against Darwin. That is ridiculous.” — Lynn Margulis",
                "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": "Lynn Margulis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-margulis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People say I am against Darwin....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-ridiculous/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-margulis/people-say-i-am-against-darwin-that-is-ridiculous/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
