The Origin of Species

by

Charles Darwin

Eyes Symbol Icon

Darwin’s critics often bring up the topic of eyes, since they seem to be an organ of such complexity that only a Creator could have made them. For Darwin, however, eyes represent exactly the opposite: they show how even a process as slow and gradual as natural selection could lead to results as shockingly organized and elaborate as the eye. He admits that eyes are a formidable challenge to his theory, but crucially, he believes they are a challenge that can be explained. In The Origin of Species, Darwin demonstrates that not all eyes are as complex as the human eye—many organisms have eyes that exist on a spectrum between rudimentary optical nerves and fully developed eyes. The diversity of eyes in living creatures and the fossil record helps make the case that complex eyes did not have to arise all at once but in fact could have easily been the result of gradual, successive adaptations over a long period of time. Additionally, eyes present another, opposite problem for Darwin: why do some organisms that live underground or in caves have nonfunctioning eyes if natural selection favors improvement? Here, Darwin explores the idea that features of an organism that don’t get frequent use will eventually be selected against in natural selection. This is because of the principle of economy of growth—losing eyes that no longer serve a purpose helps an organism adapt in other ways. Ultimately, eyes serve a variety of functions in The Origin of Species and perhaps are especially significant because they can also symbolize observation—and observation was the basis of many of Darwin’s most noteworthy discoveries.

Eyes Quotes in The Origin of Species

The The Origin of Species quotes below all refer to the symbol of Eyes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.

Related Characters: Charles Darwin
Related Symbols: Eyes
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

As natural selection acts only by the accumulation of slight modifications of structure or instinct, each profitable to the individual under its conditions of life, it may reasonably be asked, how a long and graduated succession of modified architectural instincts, all tending towards the present perfect plan of construction, could have profited the progenitors of the hive-bee? I think the answer is not difficult: cells constructed like those of the bee or the wasp gain in strength, and save much in labour and space, and in the materials of which they are constructed.

Related Characters: Charles Darwin
Related Symbols: Eyes
Page Number: 268
Explanation and Analysis:
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Eyes Symbol Timeline in The Origin of Species

The timeline below shows where the symbol Eyes appears in The Origin of Species. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Darwin noted that sometimes traits were inherited together: for example, white cats with blue eyes were typically deaf, but mostly only if they were male. He suggested that, while many... (full context)
Chapter 5
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Time and Progress Theme Icon
Collaboration and Science Theme Icon
...gradual selection based on lack of use. This is why some subterranean animals lack proper eyes, whether in the Old World or the New. (full context)
Chapter 6
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Time and Progress Theme Icon
Collaboration and Science Theme Icon
...confessed that it seemed at first absurd to him that something as complex as the eye could have arisen through natural selection. Nevertheless, he believed that by following reason, it was... (full context)
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Time and Progress Theme Icon
...look back at a species’ descent in a straight line, Darwin believed that explaining the eye involved looking at different species and genera within a larger group. He found that some... (full context)
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Time and Progress Theme Icon
Ultimately, Darwin observed a wide range of eyes and believed these were evidence that the human eye could have been perfected through gradual... (full context)
Chapter 15
Natural Selection and the Power of Nature Theme Icon
Reason, Argument, and the Scientific Method Theme Icon
Time and Progress Theme Icon
...objections to his arguments, in particular the idea that extremely complex organs like the human eye give the appearance of having been designed and created all at once. He nevertheless maintained... (full context)