Species evolve exactly as if ...

Species evolve exactly as if they were adapting as best they could to a changing world, and not at all as if they were moving toward a set goal.
Species evolve exactly as if they were adapting as best they could to a changing world, and not at all as if they were moving toward a set goal.
 George Gaylord Simpson

More phrases

We are in a survival mentality, and that's hard-wired into our humanity, because we are the winners of an evolutionary struggle of millions and millions and millions of years.
 John Shelby Spong
There is an ocean of endless opportunities, and there are so many things that one can do. I'm so fortunate that I've grown up with this sort of a philosophy and mentality.
 Hafez Nazeri
I like to challenge hitters with a 'Here it is, hit it,' mentality. It's definitely a big part of my game, especially when I get in situations where I need it. I usually save a little bit so it's there for me.
 Justin Verlander
Sala-manda-stron, look out here we come, A thief a warrior and a mole. Though the quest may take its toll, We'll march until we reach our goal,
 Brian Jacques
A warrior takes his lot, whatever it may be, and accepts it in ultimate humbleness. He accepts in humbleness what he is, not as a grounds for regret but as a living challenge.

Quotes from the same author

...the argument from absence of transitional types boils down to the striking fact that such types are always lacking unless they have been found.
 George Gaylord Simpson
Certainly paleontologists have found samples of an extremely small fraction, only, of the earth's extinct species, and even for groups that are most readily preserved and found as fossils they can never expect to find more than a fraction.
 George Gaylord Simpson