What does “survival of the fittest” mean?
The selection process arises from the fact that the best-adapted organisms tend to survive, almost as
if nature had handpicked a fortunate few for perpetuation. At its heart, fitness has little to do with which
individuals survive the longest or are the strongest; rather, it is determined by which ones pass on their
genes to the next generation. It is true, though, that the longest-lived individual may have more time to
produce offspring and the strongest may have more opportunity to mate. In both cases, therefore, reproductive success is the key. Present organisms can trace their lineage through a long series of past reproductive winners in the battle for survival.
It should be realized that reproductive success is not just a matter of active combat for resources and
mates, but may involve cooperative and altruistic features by which individual success may be enhanced.
Nor is the competition an all-or-none affair in which there is a single winner and many losers. Rather, one
might view the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest as a mechanism for diferenrinl
reproduction-those with better adaptations outproduce those of lesser “fitness.” Over long periods of
time, the species tends to hoard those genes that are passed on by the better-adapted individuals.
The selection process arises from the fact that the best-adapted organisms tend to survive, almost as
if nature had handpicked a fortunate few for perpetuation. At its heart, fitness has little to do with which
individuals survive the longest or are the strongest; rather, it is determined by which ones pass on their
genes to the next generation. It is true, though, that the longest-lived individual may have more time to
produce offspring and the strongest may have more opportunity to mate. In both cases, therefore, reproductive success is the key. Present organisms can trace their lineage through a long series of past reproductive winners in the battle for survival.
It should be realized that reproductive success is not just a matter of active combat for resources and
mates, but may involve cooperative and altruistic features by which individual success may be enhanced.
Nor is the competition an all-or-none affair in which there is a single winner and many losers. Rather, one
might view the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest as a mechanism for diferenrinl
reproduction-those with better adaptations outproduce those of lesser “fitness.” Over long periods of
time, the species tends to hoard those genes that are passed on by the better-adapted individuals.
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