“The philosophers likewise assume that in Nature there is nothing in vain, so that everything that is not the product of human industry serves a certain purpose, which may be known or unknown to us.”
Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.25
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Maimónides 180
rabbi, physician, philosopher 1138–1204Related quotes

Source: Henri Fayol addressed his colleagues in the mineral industry, 1900, p. 909

Denis Diderot, Oeuvres complètes de Diderot: revues sur les éditions originales, comprenant ce qui a été publié à diverses époques et les manuscrits inédits, conservés à la Bibliothèque de l'Ermitage, notices, notes, table analytique, Volume 11. Garnier frères, 1767. p. 366

Source: Contributions to Modern Economics (1978), Chapter 15, 'Imperfect Competition' Revisited, p. 167

“Nature does nothing in vain, and in the use of means to her goals she is not prodigal.”
Third Thesis
Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View (1784)
Context: Nature does nothing in vain, and in the use of means to her goals she is not prodigal. Her giving to man reason and the freedom of the will which depends upon it is clear indication of her purpose. Man accordingly was not to be guided by instinct, not nurtured and instructed with ready-made knowledge; rather, he should bring forth everything out of his own resources.

“Nothing is more vain than to seek to unite men by a philosophic minimum.”
Integral Humanism, (1936, Notre Dame Edition), p. 262.

Source: 2000s, Letter to a Christian Nation (2006), p. 90-91

“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.”
As quoted in The Cat Lover's Book of Fascinating Facts : A Felicitous Look at Felines (1997) by Ed Lucaire
Source: The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace