It is inherent in any definition of science that statements that cannot be checked by observation are not really saying anything or at least they are not science.
George Gaylord SimpsonSplitting and gradual divergence of genera is exemplified very well and in a large variety of organisms.
George Gaylord SimpsonMan has risen, not fallen. He can choose to develop his capacities as the highest animal and to try to rise still farther, or he can choose otherwise. The choice is his responsibility, and his alone. There is no automatism that will carry him upward without choice or effort and there is no trend solely in the right direction. Evolution has no purpose; man must supply this for himself. The means to gaining right ends involve both organic evolution and human evolution, but human choice as to what are the right ends must be based on human evolution.
George Gaylord SimpsonA rill in a barnyard and the Grand Canyon represent, in the main, stages of valley erosion that began some millions of years apart.
George Gaylord SimpsonThe meaning that we are seeking in evolution is its meaning to us, to man. The ethics of evolution must be human ethics. It is one of the many unique qualities of man, the new sort of animal, that he is the only ethical animal. The ethical need and its fulfillment are also products of evolution, but they have been produced in man alone.
George Gaylord Simpson