"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer of the Survival of the Fittest is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient." Darwin, Origin of Species 2nd edition
So Darwin is totally cool with the term Survival of the Fittest. I've seen complaints from creationists that this is a circular definition. That should who survive are the fittest and the fittest are those that survive. What is meant by the term is that those organisms that are good match between their phenotype and the environment are those that are most likely to be represented in future generations.
"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer of the Survival of the Fittest is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient." Darwin, Origin of Species 2nd edition
So Darwin is totally cool with the term Survival of the Fittest. I've seen complaints from creationists that this is a circular definition. That should who survive are the fittest and the fittest are those that survive. What is meant by the term is that those organisms that are good match between their phenotype and the environment are those that are most likely to be represented in future generations.
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