--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every philosophical thinker hails it [The…" description: "\"Every philosophical thinker hails it [The Origin of Species] as a veritable Whitworth gun in the armoury of liberalism.\" — Thomas Huxley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/thomas-huxley-1183_gun_every-philosophical-thinker-hails-it-the_1673755.png" --- # Every philosophical thinker hails it \[The Origin of… ![“Every philosophical thinker hails it [The Origin of Species] as a veritable Whitworth gun in the armoury of liberalism.” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/thomas-huxley-1183_gun_every-philosophical-thinker-hails-it-the_1673755.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/thomas-huxley-1183_gun_every-philosophical-thinker-hails-it-the_1673755.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/thomas-huxley-1183_gun_every-philosophical-thinker-hails-it-the_1673755.png) > “Every philosophical thinker hails it \[The Origin of Species\] as a veritable Whitworth gun in the armoury of liberalism.” [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Huxley likens Darwin’s theory to a powerful, precise weapon in the intellectual arsenal of liberal thought. **In simple terms:** Science is a strong tool for progress. Key Takeaway Use scientific insight to challenge dogma. Themes science progress liberalism Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - policy making - education reform Key Concepts philosophy evolutionary theory Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance scientific rigor with public understanding? - What role does critical thinking play in societal advancement? A Different Perspective Complex ideas may be oversimplified. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armoury Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armoury-liberalism-886593/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Hail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hail/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Origin of species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/origin-of-species/) [Philosopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophical Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-thinker-886597/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Thinker Hails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker-hails-886598/) [Veritable Whitworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/veritable-whitworth-886595/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [“This century will be called Darwin 's century. 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He has explained more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/this-century-will-be-called-darwin-s-century-he-was-one-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [His subject is the "Origin of Species," & not the origin of Organization; & it seems a needless mischief to have opened the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/his-subject-is-the-origin-of-species-not-the-origin-of-organization/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [“The publication of the Darwin and Wallace papers in 1858, and still more that of the 'Origin' in 1859, had the effect upon them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-henry-huxley/the-publication-of-the-darwin-and-wallace-papers-in-1858-and-still/) [Thomas Henry Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-henry-huxley/) > [Owing to this struggle for life, any variation, however slight and from whatever cause proceeding, if it be in any degree profitable to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/owing-to-this-struggle-for-life-any-variation-however-slight-and-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin’s familiarity with human-caused extinction is also clear from On the Origin of Species. 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Thus, remind a human who is prideful of the origin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teni-a/as-precious-as-life-is-it-has-no-value-in-the-hands-of-death-thus/) [Teni. A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teni-a/) > [The publication in 1859 of the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin made a marked epoch in my own mental development, as it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/the-publication-in-1859-of-the-origin-of-species-by-charles-darwin/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [When it was first said that the sun stood still and world turned round, the common sense of mankind declared the doctrine false; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/when-it-was-first-said-that-the-sun-stood-still-and-world-turned/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [For I am well aware that scarcely a single point is discussed in this volume on which facts cannot be adduced, often apparently leading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/for-i-am-well-aware-that-scarcely-a-single-point-is-discussed-in-this/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Great is the power of steady misrepresentation; but the history of science shows that fortunately this power does not long endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/great-is-the-power-of-steady-misrepresentation-but-the-history-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/as-buds-give-rise-by-growth-to-fresh-buds-and-these-if-vigorous/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More by Thomas Huxley > [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/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Economy does not lie in sparing money, but in spending it wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/economy-does-not-lie-in-sparing-money-but-in-spending-it-wisely/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [It is not to be forgotten that what we call rational grounds for our beliefs are often extremely irrational attempts to justify our instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/it-is-not-to-be-forgotten-that-what-we-call-rational-grounds-for-our/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Only a scientific people can survive in a scientific future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/only-a-scientific-people-can-survive-in-a-scientific-future/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Our reverence for the nobility of manhood will not be lessened by the knowledge that man is in substance and in structure, one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/our-reverence-for-the-nobility-of-manhood-will-not-be-lessened-by-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In science, as in art, and, as I believe, in every other sphere of human activity, there may be wisdom in a multitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-science-as-in-art-and-as-i-believe-in-every-other-sphere-of-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/science-is-simply-common-sense-at-its-best-that-is-rigidly-accurate/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Oh devil! truth is better than much profit. I have searched over the grounds of my belief, and if wife and child and name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/oh-devil-truth-is-better-than-much-profit-i-have-searched-over-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Let us have "sweet girl graduates" by all means. They will be none the less sweet for a little wisdom; and the "golden hair"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/let-us-have-sweet-girl-graduates-by-all-means-they-will-be-none-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable. That I take to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/in-matters-of-the-intellect-do-not-pretend-that-conclusions-are/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [And you very soon find out, if you have not found it out before, that patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/and-you-very-soon-find-out-if-you-have-not-found-it-out-before-that/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [No one who has lived in the world as long as you & I have, can entertain the pious delusion that it is engineered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/no-one-who-has-lived-in-the-world-as-long-as-you-i-have-can-entertain/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Mix salt and sand, and it shall puzzle the wisest of men, with his mere natural appliances, to separate all the grains of sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/mix-salt-and-sand-and-it-shall-puzzle-the-wisest-of-men-with-his-mere/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [What are the moral convictions most fondly held by barbarous and semi-barbarous people? They are the convictions that authority is the soundest basis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/what-are-the-moral-convictions-most-fondly-held-by-barbarous-and-semi/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) [Explore all 278 Thomas Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) ## More Gun quotes > [When you reach that competing point, when you reach that time when the gun is about to go off, everyone's level is pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/when-you-reach-that-competing-point-when-you-reach-that-time-when-the/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. 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