Re: CHAT: Religion, Philosophy & Politics

Darwin never used the phrase "survival of the fittest."  "Fittest" implies
a standard, an ideal, of fittness.  The truth is, there is none.

On Thu, 4 May 2000, John Cowan wrote:

> bjm10@CORNELL.EDU wrote:
>
> > That means "survival of those who survive"--that is all that "fit" means.
>
> Actually, no.  "Fitness" in this sense means "well-designed, by engineering
> criteria".  Darwin did not discover a tautology!
>
> See http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/evolphil/tautology.html for a detailed
> explanation.
>
> --
>
> Schlingt dreifach einen Kreis um dies! || John Cowan <jcowan@...>
> Schliesst euer Aug vor heiliger Schau,  || http://www.reutershealth.com
> Denn er genoss vom Honig-Tau,           || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
> Und trank die Milch vom Paradies.            -- Coleridge (tr. Politzer)
>

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