Difference between revisions of "Survival of the fittest"
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(Gandhi on Survival of the fittest) |
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| + | ! style="font-size:120%; background:purple; text-align:center; padding:5px 0;" | Fallacious maxims | ||
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| + | | style="padding:15px;" |''"But from the present civilization, or, rather, from [[Western civilization]], there flow two propositions which have almost become maxims to live by — I call them fallacious maxims. They are “might is right” and “survival of the fittest”."'' | ||
| + | <div style="padding-left:40px;">— [[Mahatma Gandhi]] <ref>{{cite book |title=The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: The voice of truth |author=Mahatma Gandhi |editor=Shriman Narayan |publisher=Navajivan Publishing House |year=1968 |pages=278 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXlDAAAAYAAJ }}</ref> | ||
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'''Survival of the fittest''' is a famous phrase coined by British economist [[Herbert Spencer]] in ''Principles of Biology'' (1864), used to summarize [[natural selection]]. He went on to use the phrase to reinforce his theories on the development of companies and societies in general. | '''Survival of the fittest''' is a famous phrase coined by British economist [[Herbert Spencer]] in ''Principles of Biology'' (1864), used to summarize [[natural selection]]. He went on to use the phrase to reinforce his theories on the development of companies and societies in general. | ||
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Modern biologists tend not to use the phrase because it reduces to an informal [[tautology]] if one defines "fittest" to mean possessing attributes conducive to survival. | Modern biologists tend not to use the phrase because it reduces to an informal [[tautology]] if one defines "fittest" to mean possessing attributes conducive to survival. | ||
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| + | == References == | ||
| + | {{Reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Evolution]] | [[Category:Evolution]] | ||
Revision as of 16:36, March 5, 2019
| Fallacious maxims |
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| "But from the present civilization, or, rather, from Western civilization, there flow two propositions which have almost become maxims to live by — I call them fallacious maxims. They are “might is right” and “survival of the fittest”." |
Survival of the fittest is a famous phrase coined by British economist Herbert Spencer in Principles of Biology (1864), used to summarize natural selection. He went on to use the phrase to reinforce his theories on the development of companies and societies in general.
The phrase went on to influence ideas such as Social Darwinism and fascism.
Modern biologists tend not to use the phrase because it reduces to an informal tautology if one defines "fittest" to mean possessing attributes conducive to survival.
References
- ↑ Mahatma Gandhi (1968). in Shriman Narayan: The Selected Works of Mahatma Gandhi: The voice of truth. Navajivan Publishing House, 278.