--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That the variability of an organism to a…" description: "\"That the variability of an organism to a certain extent is a constant and certain condition of life we admit, otherwise there would be no distinguishab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/richard-owen-31312_biology_that-the-variability-of-an-organism-to-a_1238213.jpg" --- # That the variability of an organism to a certain extent is… ![“That the variability of an organism to a certain extent is a constant and certain condition of life we admit, otherwise there would be no distinguishable individuals of a species.” quote by Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/richard-owen-31312_biology_that-the-variability-of-an-organism-to-a_1238213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/richard-owen-31312_biology_that-the-variability-of-an-organism-to-a_1238213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28b/richard-owen-31312_biology_that-the-variability-of-an-organism-to-a_1238213.jpg) > “That the variability of an organism to a certain extent is a constant and certain condition of life we admit, otherwise there would be no distinguishable individuals of a species.” [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Biological variation is a fundamental, stable condition of life, essential for distinguishing individuals within a species. **In simple terms:** Variation is essential for individuality. Key Takeaway Embrace diversity as natural law. Themes biology variation individuality evolution stability Mood analytical thoughtful Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - conservation - education - medical research - breeding programs Key Concepts genetics ecology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does variation shape societal structures? - Can we manage variation ethically? A Different Perspective Variation can lead to conflict or inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Variability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variability/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [No known human group... simply throw out its dead without any ritual or ceremony. 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All the basic technologies ever invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/at-issue-is-not-only-knowledge-of-the-world-but-our-survival-as/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [ “the struggle \[for existence\] almost invariably will be most severe between the individuals of the same species, for they frequent the same districts, require… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/the-struggle-for-existence-almost-invariably-will-be-most-severe/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Or are we?” Langdon intoned overhead. “We consider ourselves modern rational individuals, and yet our species’ most widespread religion includes a whole host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/or-are-we-langdon-intoned-overhead-we-consider-ourselves-modern/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [We may smile and the dog may wag the tail, but in essence, we have a set program and those programs are similar across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/we-may-smile-and-the-dog-may-wag-the-tail-but-in-essence-we-have-a/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [How individuals of the same species surpass each other in these sensations and in other bodily faculties is universally known, but there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/how-individuals-of-the-same-species-surpass-each-other-in-these/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/as-many-more-individuals-of-each-species-are-born-than-can-possibly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Both humans and dogs love to play well into adulthood, and individuals from both species occasionally display evidence of having a conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-winokur/both-humans-and-dogs-love-to-play-well-into-adulthood-and-individuals/) [Jon Winokur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-winokur/) > [Not only does every animal live at the expense of some other animal or plant, but thevery plants are at war… The individuals of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-only-does-every-animal-live-at-the-expense-of-some-other-animal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ['Extinction' issue. Save the species for whom??? Humans' convenience, of course! Individuals of the species are snatched from their homes/family/habitat/held in captivity/forced to mate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-popescu/extinction-issue-save-the-species-for-whom-humans-convenience-of/) [Adela Popescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-popescu/) > [An Individual, whatever species it might be, is nothing in the Universe. A hundred, a thousand individuals are still nothing. The species are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/an-individual-whatever-species-it-might-be-is-nothing-in-the-universe/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [The modern joint stock firm is the outcome of innumerable decisions made by individual entrepreneurs, owners and managers. For these decision makers the choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-d-chandler-jr/the-modern-joint-stock-firm-is-the-outcome-of-innumerable-decisions/) Alfred D. Chandler, Jr > [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 ## More by Richard Owen > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Homologue. The same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/homologue-the-same-organ-in-different-animals-under-every-variety-of/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The powers, aspirations, and mission of man are such as to raise the study of his origin and nature, inevitably and by the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-powers-aspirations-and-mission-of-man-are-such-as-to-raise-the/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Analogue. A part or organ in one animal which has the same function as another part or organ in a different animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/analogue-a-part-or-organ-in-one-animal-which-has-the-same-function-as/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Mr. Darwin refers to the multitude of the individual of every species, which, from one cause or another, perish either before, or soon after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/mr-darwin-refers-to-the-multitude-of-the-individual-of-every-species/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [But, as we have before been led to remark, most of Mr. Darwin's statements elude, by their vagueness and incompleteness, the test of Natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/but-as-we-have-before-been-led-to-remark-most-of-mr-darwin-s/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The relationship between a Russian and a bottle of vodka is almost mystical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-relationship-between-a-russian-and-a-bottle-of-vodka-is-almost/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The steam-engine in its manifold applications, the crime-decreasing gas-lamp, the lightning conductor, the electric telegraph, the law of storms and rules for the mariner's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-steam-engine-in-its-manifold-applications-the-crime-decreasing/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Mr. Darwin contributes some striking and ingenious instances of the way in which the principle partially affects the chain, or rather network of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/mr-darwin-contributes-some-striking-and-ingenious-instances-of-the/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Rapid innovation is the cure for the ills we face, but because innovation is difficult and susceptible to failure, we might need to rethink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/rapid-innovation-is-the-cure-for-the-ills-we-face-but-because/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Cuvier had preceded Lamarck in specifying the kinds and degrees of variation, which his own observations and critical judgment of the reports of others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/cuvier-had-preceded-lamarck-in-specifying-the-kinds-and-degrees-of/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Manifold subsequent experience has led to a truer appreciation and a more moderate estimate of the importance of the dependence of one living being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/manifold-subsequent-experience-has-led-to-a-truer-appreciation-and-a/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [The laws of Coexistence;-the adaptation of structure to function; and to a certain extent the elucidation of natural affinities may be legitimately founded upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-laws-of-coexistence-the-adaptation-of-structure-to-function-and/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [Every step in the progress of this study has tended to obliterate the technical barriers by which logicians have sought to separate the inquiries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/every-step-in-the-progress-of-this-study-has-tended-to-obliterate-the/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [No naturalist has devoted more painstaking attention to the structure of the barnacles than Mr. Darwin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/no-naturalist-has-devoted-more-painstaking-attention-to-the-structure/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) [Explore all 16 Richard Owen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) ## More Biology quotes > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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 > [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/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Biochemists and biologists who adhere blindly to the Darwinism theory search for results that will be in agreement with their theories and consequently orient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/biochemists-and-biologists-who-adhere-blindly-to-the-darwinism-theory/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [“A note of caution: epigenetics is also on the verge of transforming into a dangerous idea. Epigenetic modifications of genes can potentially superpose historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/a-note-of-caution-epigenetics-is-also-on-the-verge-of-transforming/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [Natural history is not taught in seminary. This is curious, as most people in pastoral ministry are about 567 times more likely to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-maitland/natural-history-is-not-taught-in-seminary-this-is-curious-as-most/) [Sara Maitland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-maitland/) > [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/) Tom Atlee > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. 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