In Galapagos, as elsewhere, things of the mind, including intellectual ramifications from evolutionary theory, and things of the spirit, like the feeling one gets from a Queen Annes lace of stars in the moonless Galapagean sky, struggle toward accommodation with an elementary desire for material comfortbecause so many regard this archipelago as preeminently a terrain of the mind and spirit, a locus of biological thought and psychological rejuvenation. The sheer strength of Darwins insight into the development of biological life gently urges a visitor to be more than usually observant here- to notice, say, that while the thirteen Galapagean finches are all roughly the same hue, it is possible to separate them according to marked differences in the shapes of their bills and feeding habits.

About This Quote

About Barry Lpez, About This Life

Barry Lpez, About This Life.

Themes

  • Nature — Appreciation for the natural world and our place within it
  • Wisdom — Timeless insights drawn from experience and reflection

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