Much of the chapter responds to George Jackson Mivart's criticisms, including his claim that features such as baleen filters in whales, flatfish with both eyes on one side and the camouflage of stick insects could not have evolved through natural selection because intermediate stages would not have been adaptive.
Veľká časť kapitoly odpovedá na kritiku George Jacksona Mivarta, vrátane jeho tvrdenia, že javy ako kosticové filtre u veľrýb, platesa s oboma očami na jednej strane alebo maskovanie pakobyliek nemohli byť vyvinuté skrz prirodzený výber, pretože prechodné stavy by neboli adaptívne.