Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I WHAT ARE “SPECIES” AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THEIR “ORIGIN”
- CHAPTER II THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
- CHAPTER III THE VARIABILITY OF SPECIES IN A STATE OF NATURE
- CHAPTER IV VARIATION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS
- CHAPTER V NATURAL SELECTION BY VARIATION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
- CHAPTER VI DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS
- CHAPTER VII ON THE INFERTILITY OF CROSSES BETWEEN DISTINCT SPECIES AND THE USUAL STERILITY OF THEIR HYBRID OFFSPRING
- CHAPTER VIII THE ORIGIN AND USES OF COLOUR IN ANIMALS
- CHAPTER IX WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY
- CHAPTER X COLOURS AND ORNAMENTS CHARACTERISTIC OF SEX
- CHAPTER XI THE SPECIAL COLOURS OF PLANTS: THEIR ORIGIN AND PURPOSE
- CHAPTER XII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- CHAPTER XIII THE GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION
- CHAPTER XIV FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN RELATION TO VARIATION AND HEREDITY
- CHAPTER XV DARWINISM APPLIED TO MAN
- INDEX
CHAPTER II - THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I WHAT ARE “SPECIES” AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THEIR “ORIGIN”
- CHAPTER II THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
- CHAPTER III THE VARIABILITY OF SPECIES IN A STATE OF NATURE
- CHAPTER IV VARIATION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS
- CHAPTER V NATURAL SELECTION BY VARIATION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
- CHAPTER VI DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS
- CHAPTER VII ON THE INFERTILITY OF CROSSES BETWEEN DISTINCT SPECIES AND THE USUAL STERILITY OF THEIR HYBRID OFFSPRING
- CHAPTER VIII THE ORIGIN AND USES OF COLOUR IN ANIMALS
- CHAPTER IX WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY
- CHAPTER X COLOURS AND ORNAMENTS CHARACTERISTIC OF SEX
- CHAPTER XI THE SPECIAL COLOURS OF PLANTS: THEIR ORIGIN AND PURPOSE
- CHAPTER XII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- CHAPTER XIII THE GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION
- CHAPTER XIV FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN RELATION TO VARIATION AND HEREDITY
- CHAPTER XV DARWINISM APPLIED TO MAN
- INDEX
Summary
There is perhaps no phenomenon of nature that is at once so important, so universal, and so little understood, as the struggle for existence continually going on among all organised beings. To most persons nature appears calm, orderly, and peaceful. They see the birds singing in the trees, the insects hovering over the flowers, the squirrel climbing among the tree-tops, and all living things in the possession of health and vigour, and in the enjoyment of a sunny existence. But they do not see, and hardly ever think of, the means by which this beauty and harmony and enjoyment is brought about. They do not see the constant and daily search after food, the failure to obtain which means weakness or death; the constant effort to escape enemies; the ever-recurring struggle against the forces of nature. This daily and hourly struggle, this incessant warfare, is nevertheless the very means by which much of the beauty and harmony and enjoyment in nature is produced, and also affords one of the most important elements in bringing about the origin of species. We must, therefore, devote some time to the consideration of its various aspects and of the many curious phenomena to which it gives rise.
It is a matter of common observation that if weeds are allowed to grow unchecked in a garden they will soon destroy a number of the flowers. It is not so commonly known that if a garden is left to become altogether wild, the weeds that first take possession of it, often covering the whole surface of the ground with two or three different kinds, will themselves be supplanted by others, so that in a few years many of the original flowers and of the earliest weeds may alike have disappeared.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- DarwinismAn Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection, with some of its Applications, pp. 14 - 40Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009First published in: 1889