Darwin's Quotes: Not Survival of the Fittest?

On Charles Darwin's 200th Birthday, His Words Are Cast in Doubt

Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809, the same day as Abraham Lincoln. But unlike Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin on his 200th birthday does not have a Gettysburg Address or a Second Inaugural Speech inscribed word-for-word in a memorial, for posterity's sake.

Apparently, we are learning at the time of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday that Charles Darwin may have been misquoted. Survival of Charles Darwin's fittest words may not be accurate.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a global news service that is, among other mediam, raising questions about Charles Darwin quotations.

Cambridge professor and Darwin scholar John van Wyhe told AFP: "His writings can be quite hard going. Often you have to read a whole chapter to know what he is talking about." In other words, Charles Darwin wasn't very good at natural selection in his choice of words.

This brings into question the most famous Charles Darwin quote: "It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." Sometimes it is slightly reworded as follows: "In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment."

Scholars say not only that they don't find those words in Darwin's compiled works, but that they distort Darwin's ideas. Wyhe states: "These pithy little sayings try to encapsulate Darwin. Unfortunately all of them are actually rather wrong."

Outright wrong? Wyhe continues that among the species that survive, actually "it is the ones that are lucky, or already have the right features that can be passed on to the next generation."

So, it seems, you and me are here not because we were so special to survive, but because we were lucky. Hmmm . . .

Wyhe continues on his rant: "Darwin is particularly likely to get these false citations. Everyone has heard of him, but almost no one has read him." Awww, c'mon Professor Wyhe, you're the one who just told us that it's virtually impossible to comprehend the writings of Charles Darwin. But if we wish to tackle such an apparent headache, we can visit www.darwin-online.org.uk.