the theory of natural selection (survival of the fittest) states quizlet

Those adaptations added up and created all of the biological diversity we have on Earth today, and much more that has since died out through mass extinctions or other means of death.Īnother issue with this misconception is that Charles Darwin was not the only one to come up with the idea of natural selection. Since life had begun on Earth, the environment was putting pressure on individuals to adapt or die out. First of all, it should be pretty obvious that Charles Darwin did not 'invent' natural selection and that it had been going on for billions of years before Charles Darwin was born. There are several things incorrect about the above statement. If the environment favored smaller and weaker individuals, then they would be considered more fit than their stronger and larger counterparts. In fact, the 'fittest' individual may actually be much weaker or smaller than others in the population. This is not necessarily how it works in the natural world when describing natural selection.

However, in the modern use of language, 'fittest' often means strongest or in best physical condition.

In Darwin's writings, he intended for the word 'fittest' to mean those who were most suited to their immediate environment. While technically, this is a correct statement, the common definition of 'fittest' is what seems to create the most problems for understanding the true nature of natural selection.Īlthough Charles Darwin did use this phrase in a revised edition of his book On the Origin of Species, it was not intended to create confusion. 'Survival of the fittest' is how most people with only a superficial understanding of the process would describe it. Most likely, most of the misconceptions about natural selection come from this single phrase that has become synonymous with it.

The theory of natural selection (survival of the fittest) states quizlet