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For other uses, see Survival of the fittest (disambiguation).
 Herbert Spencer coined the phrase, "survival of the fittest." Survival of the fittest is a phrase which is a shorthand for a concept relating to competition for survival or predominance. Originally applied by Herbert Spencer in his Principles of Biology of 1864, Spencer drew parallels to his ideas of economics with Charles Darwin's theories of evolution by what Darwin termed natural selection. Survival of the Fittest is a metaphor related to the biological theory of evolution. ...
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For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ...
Look up phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ...
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For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...
This article is about evolution in biology. ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
The phrase is a metaphor, not a scientific description; and it is not generally used by biologists, who almost unanimously prefer to use the phrase "natural selection" exclusively. This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
History of the phrase
While the British economist Herbert Spencer is often credited with introducing the phrase "survival of the fittest" in his 1851 work Social Statics (relating to free market economics) or his First Principles of a New system of Philosophy of 1862, he actually did not use the phrase until after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. and introduced it in his Principles of Biology of 1864, vol. 1, p. 444, writing "This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection', or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life." [1] For other persons named Herbert Spencer, see Herbert Spencer (disambiguation). ...
Social Statics, or The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed is a 1851 book by the British economist Herbert Spencer. ...
A free market is an idealized market, where all economic decisions and actions by individuals regarding transfer of money, goods, and services are voluntary, and are therefore devoid of coercion and theft (some definitions of coercion are inclusive of theft). Colloquially and loosely, a free market economy is an economy...
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In a formal logical system, that is, a set of propositions that are consistent with one another, it is probable that some of the statements can be deduced from one another. ...
For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ...
Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ...
In The Man Versus The State Spencer used the phrase in a postscript to justify a plausible explanation for why his theories would not be adopted by "societies of milatant type." He uses the term in the context of societies at war, and the form of his reference suggests that he is applying a general principle.[2]
Thus by survival of the fittest, the militant type of society becomes characterized by profound confidence in the governing power, joined with a loyalty causing submission to it in all matters whatever. In the first four editions of On the Origin of Species, Darwin used the phrase "natural selection" [1] and preferred that phrase. However, Spencer's Principles of Biology drew parallels between his economic theories and Darwin's biological ones and made first use in print of the phrase "survival of the fittest". Darwin agreed with Alfred Russel Wallace that this phrase avoided the troublesome anthropomorphism of "selecting", though it "lost the analogy between nature's selection and the fanciers'." It was used by Darwin in the 5th edition of The Origin published on 10 February 1869, in a secondary header of Chapter 4 about natural selection [2] and at several places in the text, mostly using the phrase "Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest". He gave full credit to Spencer, writing "I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term natural selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer, of the Survival of the Fittest, is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient." At this time the word "fittest" would have primarily meant "most suitable" or "most appropriate" rather than "in the best physical shape". For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
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1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
In modern times, however, the phrase is widely used in popular literature as a catchphrase for any topic related or analogous to evolution and natural selection. It has thus been applied to principles of unrestrained competition, and it has been used extensively by both proponents and opponents of Social Darwinism. Its shortcomings as a description of Darwinian evolution have also become more apparent (see below). Competition is the act of striving against others for the purpose of achieving gain, such as income, pride, amusement, or dominance. ...
Social Darwinism is the idea that Charles Darwins theory can be extended and applied to the social realm, i. ...
Evolutionary biologists criticize how the term is used by non-scientists and the connotations that have grown around the term in popular culture. The phrase also does not help in conveying the complex nature of natural selection and modern biologists prefer and almost exclusively use the term natural selection. Indeed, in modern biology, the term fitness measures reproductive success and is not explicit about the specific ways in which organisms can be "fit" as in "having phenotypic characteristics which enhance survival and reproduction" (which was the meaning that Spencer had in mind). A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ...
Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
Fitness (often denoted in population genetics models) is a central concept in evolutionary theory. ...
Reproductive success is defined as the passing of genes onto the next generation in a way that they too can pass those genes on. ...
Is "survival of the fittest" a tautology? "Survival of the fittest" is sometimes claimed to be a tautology. The reasoning is that if one takes the term "fit" to mean "endowed with phenotypic characteristics which improve chances of survival and reproduction" (which is roughly how Spencer understood it), then "survival of the fittest" can simply be rewritten as "survival of those who are better equipped for surviving". While this is not exactly a tautology (we might imagine a benevolent deity or experimenter that would consistently favour the poorly adapted, and destroy well-adapted creatures, so that "survival of the fittest" might actually not occur), this is not a very informative statement: it simply reduces to a statement that the game of Life is not rigged in favour of the poorly adapted, which is not controversial. Furthermore, the expression does become a tautology if one uses the most widely accepted definition of "fitness" in modern biology, namely reproductive success itself (rather than any set of characters conducive to this reproductive success). This reasoning is sometimes used to claim that Darwin's entire theory of evolution by natural selection is fundamentally tautological, and therefore devoid of any explanatory power. In rhetoric, a tautology is an unnecessary (and usually unintentional) repetition of meaning, often utilising words from different languages. ...
However, the expression "survival of the fittest" (taken on its own and out of context) gives a very incomplete account of the mechanism of natural selection. The reason is that it does not mention a key requirement for natural selection, namely the requirement of heritability. It is true that the phrase "survival of the fittest", in and by itself, is a tautology if fitness is defined by survival and reproduction. However, natural selection is not just survival of the fittest. Natural selection is the portion of variation in reproductive success, that is caused by heritable characters (see the article on natural selection). Heredity (the adjective is hereditary) is the transfer of characteristics from parent to offspring, either through their genes or through the social institution called inheritance (for example, a title of nobility is passed from individual to individual according to relevant customs and/or laws). ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
If certain heritable characters increase or decrease the chances of survival and reproduction of their bearers, then it follows mechanically (by definition of "heritable") that those characters that improve survival and reproduction will increase in frequency over generations. This is precisely what is called "evolution by natural selection." On the other hand, if the characters which lead to differential reproductive success are not heritable, then no meaningful evolution will occur, "survival of the fittest" or not: if improvement in reproductive success is caused by traits that are not heritable, then there is no reason why these traits should increase in frequency over generations. In other words, natural selection does not simply state that "survivors survive" or "reproducers reproduce"; rather, it states that "survivors survive, reproduce and therefore propagate any heritable characters which have affected their survival and reproductive success". This statement is not tautological: it hinges on the testable hypothesis that such fitness-impacting heritable variations actually exist (a hypothesis that has been amply confirmed.) This article is about evolution in biology. ...
For other uses, see Natural selection (disambiguation). ...
One may be faced with the problem of making a definite decision with respect to an uncertain hypothesis which is known only through its observable consequences. ...
Skeptic Society founder and Skeptic magazine publisher Dr. Michael Shermer addresses this argument in his 1997 book, Why People Believe Weird Things, in which he points out that although tautologies are sometimes the beginning of science, they are never the end, and that scientific principles like natural selection are testable and falsifiable by virtue of their predictive power. Shermer points out, as an example, that population genetics accurately demonstrate when natural selection will and will not effect change on a population. Shermer hypothesizes that if hominid fossils were found in the same geological strata as trilobites, it would be evidence against natural selection.[3] The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. ...
Michael Shermer Michael Shermer (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale, California) is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating and debunking pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. ...
Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time is a book by Michael Shermer published in 1997 by Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0805070893. ...
One may be faced with the problem of making a definite decision with respect to an uncertain hypothesis which is known only through its observable consequences. ...
This page discusses how a theory or assertion is falsifiable (disprovable opp: verifiable), rather than the non-philosophical use of falsification, meaning counterfeiting. ...
A hominid is any member of the biological family Hominidae (the great apes), including the extinct and extant humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. ...
A fossil Ammonite Fossils are the mineralized remains of animals or plants or other traces such as footprints. ...
Orders Agnostida Redlichiida Corynexochida Lichida Nektaspida? Phacopida Proetida Asaphida Harpetida Ptychopariida Trilobites are extinct arthropods in the class Trilobita. ...
"Survival of the fittest" and morality Critics of evolution have argued that "survival of the fittest" provides a justification for behaviour that undermines moral standards by letting the strong set standards of justice to the detriment of the weak.[4] However, any use of evolutionary descriptions to set moral standards would be a naturalistic fallacy (or more specifically the is-ought problem), as prescriptive, moral statements cannot be derived from purely descriptive premises. Describing how things are does not imply that things ought to be that way. It is also simplistic to suggest that evolutionary "survival of the fittest" implies treating the weak badly, as social behaviour cooperating with others and treating them well improves evolutionary fitness.[5][6] This article is about evolution in biology. ...
Morality (from the Latin manner, character, proper behaviour) has three principal meanings. ...
George Edward Moore The naturalistic fallacy is often claimed to be a formal fallacy. ...
David Hume raised the is-ought problem in his Treatise of Human Nature. ...
It has also been claimed that "the survival of the fittest" theory in biology was interpreted by late 19th century capitalists as "an ethical precept that sanctioned cutthroat economic competition" and led to "social Darwinism" which allegedly glorified laissez-faire economics, war and racism.[7] However these ideas predate and commonly contradict Darwin's ideas, and indeed their proponents rarely invoked Darwin in support, while commonly claiming justification from religion and Horatio Alger mythology. The term "social Darwinism" referring to capitalist ideologies was introduced as a term of abuse by Richard Hofstadter's Social Darwinism in American Thought published in 1944.[6][8] This claim is also an example of the appeal to consequences fallacy – even if the concept of survival of the fittest was used as a justification for violence, this has no effect on the truth of the theory of evolution by natural selection. For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ...
Social Darwinism is the idea that Charles Darwins theory can be extended and applied to the social realm, i. ...
Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ...
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Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Gay bashing Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial...
Horatio Alger, Jr. ...
Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916 - October 24, 1970) was an American historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. ...
Appeal to consequences, also known as argumentum ad consequentiam (Latin: argument to the consequences), is an argument that concludes a premise (typically a belief) to be either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desirable or undesirable consequences. ...
Kropotkin and "survival of the fittest" The famous anarchist philosopher and scientist Peter Kropotkin viewed the theory of survival of the fittest as supporting co-operation rather than competition. In his book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution he set out his analysis leading to the conclusion that the fittest was not necessarily the best at competing individually, but often the community made up of those best at working together. He concluded that "In the animal world we have seen that the vast majority of species live in societies, and that they find in association the best arms for the struggle for life: understood, of course, in its wide Darwinian sense – not as a struggle for the sheer means of existence, but as a struggle against all natural conditions unfavourable to the species. The animal species, in which individual struggle has been reduced to its narrowest limits, and the practice of mutual aid has attained the greatest development, are invariably the most numerous, the most prosperous, and the most open to further progress." Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ...
Prince Peter (Pyotr) Alexeyevich Kropotkin (Russian: ) (December 9, 1842–February 8, 1921) was one of Russias foremost anarchists and one of the first advocates of anarchist communism: the model of society he advocated for most of his life was that of a communalist society free from central government. ...
Applying this concept to human society, he presented mutual aid as one of the dominant factors of evolution, the other being self assertion, and concluded that "In the practice of mutual aid, which we can retrace to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the ethical progress of man, mutual support not mutual struggle – has had the leading part. In its wide extension, even at the present time, we also see the best guarantee of a still loftier evolution of our race."
References - ^ Pioneers of Psychology [2001 Tour - School of Education & Psychology]. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
Maurice E. Stucke. Better Competition Advocacy. Retrieved on 2007-08-29. “Herbert Spencer in his Principles of Biology of 1864, vol. 1, p. 444, wrote “This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called ‘natural selection’, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.”” - ^ The principle of natural selection applied to groups of individual is known as Group selection.
- ^ Shermer, Michael; Why People Believe Weird Things; 1997; Pages 143-144
- ^ Alan Keyes (July 7, 2001). WorldNetDaily: Survival of the fittest?. WorldNetDaily. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ Mark Isaak (2004). CA002: Survival of the fittest implies might makes right.. TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
- ^ a b John S. Wilkins (1997). Evolution and Philosophy: Social Darwinism – Does evolution make might right?. TalkOrigins Archive. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- ^ Jerry Bergman. Articles / Impact / Darwin's Influence on Ruthless Laissez Faire Capitalism - Institute for Creation Research. Institute for Creation Research. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
- ^ Leonard, Thomas C., "Mistaking Eugenics for Social Darwinism: Why Eugenics is Missing from the History of American Economics", History of Political Economy 37 (supplement:): 200-233, <http://www.princeton.edu/~tleonard/papers/mistaking.pdf>
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Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
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In evolutionary biology, group selection refers to the idea that alleles can become fixed or spread in a population because of the benefits they bestow on groups, regardless of the fitness of individuals within that group. ...
Michael Shermer Michael Shermer (born September 8, 1954 in Glendale, California) is a science writer, historian of science, founder of The Skeptics Society, and editor of its magazine Skeptic, which is largely devoted to investigating and debunking pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. ...
Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time is a book by Michael Shermer published in 1997 by Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0805070893. ...
Alan Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American political activist, author and former diplomat. ...
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Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
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Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
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Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a biblical research institute based in Santee, California that focuses on constructing and teaching a Young Earth Creationist world-view. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
See also For the ethical doctrine, see Altruism (ethics). ...
Cultural evolution is the structural development (change) of a society over time. ...
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Social ecology is, in the words of its leading exponents, a coherent radical critique of current social, political, and anti-ecological trends as well as a reconstructive, ecological, communitarian, and ethical approach to society. Social Ecology is a radical view of ecology and of social/political systems. ...
According to evolutionary biology, human beings are animals and have an evolutionary history by which we are genetically related to other species. ...
Robert Boyle (Irish: Robaird Ó Bhaoill) (25 January 1627 – 30 December 1691) was an Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, inventor, and early gentleman scientist, noted for his work in physics and chemistry. ...
Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe that was regnant before the development of modern science. ...
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Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience and freedom of ideas) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, regardless of anyone elses view. ...
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Social Evolutionism is a athropological and sociological social theory that holds that societies progress through stages of increasing development, i. ...
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Moral relativism is the position that moral propositions do not reflect absolute or universal truths. ...
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Origins of the phrase
Tautology links Stephen Jay Gould (September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. ...
talk. ...
Morality link Alan Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American political activist, author and former diplomat. ...
The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) is a biblical research institute based in Santee, California that focuses on constructing and teaching a Young Earth Creationist world-view. ...
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