by Naresh Jotwani
We often hear the phrase survival of the fittest, when it is used with reference to evolving natural eco-systems. However, for two reasons, this usage can mislead. One reason is that survival may be wrongly taken to mean the survival of an individual, whereas its correct meaning is the survival of a species. The second reason is that the central, crucial criterion of fitness is left unspecified in that phrase.
Continue reading NATURE DEMANDS HARMONYPeople often wrongly interpret the process of natural selection – which drives the evolution of living species – by the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’. However, the latter phrase can be highly misleading – for two reasons. One reason is that ‘survival’ may be wrongly understood as ‘survival of an individual’, whereas the correct understanding should be ‘survival and continuation of a species’. The second reason is that a criterion of ‘fitness’ is left unspecified in the second phrase. If these two potential errors are avoided, ‘survival of the fittest’ can be brought into agreement with ‘natural selection’.
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