survival of the fittest
Evolutionary competitive advantage
Survival of the fittest is the principle that organisms best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce, passing their traits to subsequent generations.
Though often attributed to Darwin, the phrase was coined by Herbert Spencer and later adopted in evolutionary biology.
The expression has been misapplied to justify social and economic competition, suggesting that success proves inherent superiority—a distortion of the original biological concept.
Critics dismiss social Darwinism as a misreading of survival of the fittest.
- natural selectionDifferential reproductive success
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- evolutionSpecies changing over generations
- speciationFormation of distinct species
fitness · reproductive success · genetic variation · competition · dog eat dog · kill or be killed · law of the jungle · selective pressure · Darwinian theory · struggle for existence · mutation · hunt · struggle · strong · thrive · apex · bloodline · prey
- evolutionevolution, natural selection, mutation, adaptation, speciation
- DarwinCharles Darwin, natural selection, evolution, HMS Beagle, Galapagos
- scientific metaphorsblack hole, big bang, DNA, evolution, chain reaction
- famous quoteseureka, one small step, e equals mc squared, knowledge is power, pale blue dot
- Herbert Spencersocial Darwinism
- Competition idiomslevel playing field, down to the wire, neck and neck, win hands down, come from behind
survival of the fittestartificial selection
Human-controlled trait propagation
selective breeding · domestication · artificial breeding · intelligent design · genetic engineering
survival of the fittestmutual aid
Cooperative community support
egalitarianism · social safety net · socialism · welfare state · altruism
survival of the fittestrandom chance
Uncontrolled probability
accident of birth · luck of the draw · pure luck · genetic drift · fate
survival, surviving, survivor, survives, survived, fittest, survivors, survivals, survivalist