The Origin of Species · Chapter
III: Struggle for Existence explained
Darwin introduces the struggle for existence as the driving force behind natural selection.
What happens
Darwin introduces the struggle for existence as the driving force behind natural selection. He argues that individual variability alone is insufficient to explain the origin of species and the exquisite adaptations seen in nature. The struggle for life, in a large and metaphorical sense, leads to the preservation of profitable variations, which he terms Natural Selection, and notes Herbert Spencer's phrase 'Survival of the Fittest' as more accurate. He discusses the complex relations between organisms, the indirect effects of climate, and the necessity of large populations for species preservation, using examples such as the Staffordshire heath and the interdependence of plants and insects.
Themes in this chapter
Natural Selection and the Struggle for Existence
Central theme of the chapter; Darwin defines natural selection as the preservation of useful variations in the struggle for life.
Adaptation and the Utilitarian Doctrine
Discussed through the exquisite co-adaptations of organisms (e.g., woodpecker, mistletoe) and the principle that useful variations are preserved.
Characters to notice
- Charles Darwin
Author and narrator, presents the concept of struggle for existence and natural selection.
- De Candolle
Cited as having shown that all organic beings are exposed to severe competition.
- Sir Charles Lyell
Cited alongside De Candolle for demonstrating the universal competition among organisms.
- W. Herbert
Dean of Manchester, praised for his horticultural knowledge and treatment of the struggle for existence in plants.
- Herbert Spencer
Mentioned for coining the phrase 'Survival of the Fittest' as a more accurate expression for natural selection.
Key passages
“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.”
Darwin names the process of preserving beneficial variations as 'Natural Selection,' drawing an analogy to human selective breeding.
Key definition of natural 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 acknowledges that Herbert Spencer's phrase 'Survival of the Fittest' is a more precise description of the same principle.
Darwin endorses Spencer's terminology.
“Nothing is easier than to admit in words the truth of the universal struggle for life, or more difficult—at least I found it so—than constantly to bear this conclusion in mind.”
While it is easy to acknowledge the struggle for existence intellectually, Darwin admits it is hard to keep this perspective consistently in view.
Reflects Darwin's personal struggle with the concept.
“When we reflect on this struggle we may console ourselves with the full belief that the war of nature is not incessant, that no fear is felt, that death is generally prompt, and that the vigorous, the healthy, and the happy survive and multiply.”
Darwin offers consolation that the struggle is not constant, death is quick, and it is the strong and healthy that thrive.
Closing reflection on the nature of the struggle.