Principles of Genetic Selection

We conventionally speak simply of the theory of evolution, leaving off the explanatory phrase, "through natural selection." At most, perhaps, the general public has heard of "survival of the fittest"--an unfortunate phrase, since fitness in everyday usage is associated primarily with physical conditioning and athletic ability. "Survival of the most suited to its environment" would be a more accurate, if less pithy expression of the concept. But to most of us, "evolution" simply means that human beings are descended from apes--itself a slight misunderstanding, since both humans and modern apes are descendents of a mutual ancestor that is itself now extinct. But it is not simply evolution in and of itself, but the theory of natural selection--and the evidence he amassed to demonstrate it

--that were at the heart of Darwin's contribution to biological science.

Charles Darwin did not invent the concept of evolution. A number of prominent scientists and other thinkers during the eighteenth century and the first half of the ninete

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on and the Great Chain of Being alike as quasi-mystical concepts having no place in biological science (Appel, 1987). The key was produced by the most dismal theorist of the "dismal science" of economics: Thomas Malthus. Malthus held that human (and animal) populations potentially increased at a geometric rate, whereas food supply increased only at an arithmetic rate. Population was therefore continually outstripping food supply, and was kept in check only by starvation, or by indirect mechanisms such as war and epidemics. For most people (or animals of any species), times were always hard (Edey and Johnason, 1989, pp. 30-34). Malthusianism had an implicit consequence that was not immediately recognized. Which individuals survived in (perpetual) hard times, and which died? Luck was probably the largest factor, but not the only one; other things being equal, the strong, the plucky, or the adaptable had a somewhat better chance of surviving than those who lacked those characteristics. To the degree that strength, drive, or adaptability were acquired characteristics, they would have no effect on future generations, since Lamarckianism had been proven wrong. But to the degree that some individuals inherited these characterist
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Approximate Word count = 2700
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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