Struggle for existence
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The concept of the struggle for existence concerns the competition or battle for resources needed to live. It can refer to human society, or to organisms in nature. The concept is ancient, and the term ''struggle for existence'' was in use by the end of the 18th century. From the 17th century onwards the concept was associated with a population exceeding resources, an issue shown starkly in
Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
’ ''
An Essay on the Principle of Population An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...
'' which drew on
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
's ''
Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. ''Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc.'' is a short essay written in 1751 by American polymath Benjamin Franklin. It was circulated by Franklin in manuscript to his circle of friends, but in 1755 it was publ ...
''.
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
used the phrase "struggle for existence" in a broader sense, and chose the term as the title to the third chapter of ''
On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...
'' published in 1859. Using Malthus's idea of the struggle for existence, Darwin was able to develop his view of adaptation, which was highly influential in the formulation of the theory of natural selection.Ospovat, Dov. ''The Development of Darwin's Theory: Natural History, Natural Theology, and Natural Selection, 1838-1859.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, 61-86. In addition, Alfred Wallace independently used the concept of the struggle for existence to help come to the same theory of evolution.Petersen, William. ''Malthus.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1979, 219-223. Later, T.H. Huxley further developed the idea of the struggle for existence. Huxley did not fully agree with Darwin on natural selection, but he did agree that there was a struggle for existence in nature.Paradis, James G. ''T.H. Huxley: man's place in nature.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978, 145. Huxley also recognized that a struggle for existence existed between competing ideas within the minds of people engaged in intellectual discussion. This view is an early example of what was later described as
meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
theory. While the idea of the struggle for existence was developing in the western world, there were other interpretations of the struggle for existence, especially by
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
in Russia.Todes, Daniel Philip. ''Darwin without Malthus the struggle for existence in Russian evolutionary thought.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. He wrote '' Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution'' partially as a response to Huxley's essay "The Struggle for Existence". Also, the struggle for existence was questioned in the United States in the 1930s, as the idea of
cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...
among organisms became popular. More recently, it has been argued that the struggle for existence is not as important on macroevolutionary time scales.Bennett, K. D. ''Evolution and Ecology: The Pace of Life''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.


Background

The idea of the struggle for existence has been used in multiple disciplines. It became popular in the mid 19th century, through the work of Malthus, Darwin, Wallace, and others. The most popular use of the struggle for existence is in the explanation of the theory of natural selection by Charles Darwin. For more technical information on how the struggle for existence is meshed with the theory of natural selection see the main article for
natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...
.


Historical development

The concept of a struggle for existence goes back to antiquity:
Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote ...
of Ephesus wrote of struggle being the father of everything, and
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
in his ''
History of Animals ''History of Animals'' ( grc-gre, Τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα ἱστοριῶν, ''Ton peri ta zoia historion'', "Inquiries on Animals"; la, Historia Animalium, "History of Animals") is one of the major texts on biology by the ancient Gr ...
'' observed that "There is enmity between such animals as dwell in the same localities or subsist on the same food. If the means of subsistence run short, creatures of like kind will fight together." From translations, the 9th century Arabic scholar
Al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
apparently listed ways in which animals "can not exist without food, neither can the hunting animal escape being hunted in his turn", similarly "God has disposed some human beings as a cause of life for others, and likewise, he has disposed the latter as a cause of the death of the former." In his ''
Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
'' of 1651,
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
described vividly an unbridled human struggle over resources, a "war of every man against every man" if unrestrained by state power. This was the doctrine of
bellum omnium contra omnes ', a Latin phrase meaning "the war of all against all", is the description that Thomas Hobbes gives to human existence in the state-of-nature thought experiment that he conducts in ''De Cive'' (1642) and ''Leviathan'' (1651). The common modern E ...
. Matthew Hale in ''The Primitive Origination of Mankind, Considered and Examined According to the Light of Nature'' (1677) described the struggles of hunter and prey animals. Anticipating Malthus, he proposed that a wise Providence made periodic Reductions in excessive numbers of animals, as with human population "to keep it within such bounds as may keep it from surcharging the World" so that "by these Prunings there may be a consistency in the Numbers of Mankind, with an eternal succession of individuals." The Reductions experienced by humanity were "1. Plagues and Epidemical Diseases: 2. Famines: 3. Wars and Internecions: 4. Floods and Inundations: 5: Conflagrations."


Buffon and Franklin, population growth

Population increase causing the struggle for existence was given numerical expression by Buffon in 1751. He calculated that an
elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...
seed would produce a tree which, after 10 years, produced 1,000 seeds. If each were sown, the whole globe would be converted into trees in 150 years. Similarly, "if we were to hatch every egg produced by hens for a space of 30 years, there would be a sufficient number of fowls to cover the whole surface of the earth." Taking the example of herrings, if "prodigious numbers of them were not destroyed" each year they would soon cover the surface of the sea, but they would then be destroyed by "contagion and famine", so it was necessary and right that animals preyed on each other. Amidst debates on fears of British depopulation,
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
collected statistics of the American colonies which he published in his ''Poor Richard Improved'' of 1750 with the question of "how long will it be, before by an Increase of 64 ''per Annum'', 34,000 people will double themselves?" He concluded: "People increase faster by Generation in these Colonies, where all can have full Employ, and there is Room and Business for Millions yet unborn. For in old settled Countries, as England for instance, as soon as the Number of People is as great as can be supported by all the Tillage, Manufactures, Trade and Offices of the Country, the Over-plus must quit the Country, or they will perish by Poverty, Diseases, and want of Necessaries. Marriage too, is discouraged, many declining it, till they can see how they shall be able to maintain a Family." In 1751, Franklin wrote his ''
Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. ''Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc.'' is a short essay written in 1751 by American polymath Benjamin Franklin. It was circulated by Franklin in manuscript to his circle of friends, but in 1755 it was publ ...
'' proposing a 25-year doubling period in the colonies, an
exponential growth Exponential growth is a process that increases quantity over time. It occurs when the instantaneous rate of change (that is, the derivative) of a quantity with respect to time is proportional to the quantity itself. Described as a function, a q ...
in population. Over the following century, this forecast was remarkably accurate. His paper was widely circulated, and had considerable influence: Malthus cited the period as "a rate in which all concurring testimonies agree." Franklin's view was optimistic: Those migrating to America would "have their places at home soon supplied" and "increase so largely here" that there was no need for other immigrants.


Balance of warring nature

Natural theology Natural theology, once also termed physico-theology, is a type of theology that seeks to provide arguments for theological topics (such as the existence of a deity) based on reason and the discoveries of science. This distinguishes it from ...
continued an earlier theme of harmonious balance between plants and animals. In the late 18th century, naturalists saw the struggle for existence as part of an ordered balance of nature, but they increasingly recognised the fierceness of struggle and the fossil record shook ideas of permanent harmony.
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
saw an overall benign balance, but also showed calculations of the Earth quickly filling with one species if it reproduced unchecked, and referred to "bellum omnium perpetuum in omnes, et horrenda laniena" (a perpetual war of all against all, and horrible massacre). In 1773
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (baptised 25 October 1714; died 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics. In 1767 ...
, noted that "the most fruitful country can be overstocked with any animal and particularly with man", and "when men were so multiplied that the natural fruits of the earth could not maintain them", they could emigrate, prey on other animals or each other, or preferably "associate and provide in common what singly they could not procure." In 1775
Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...
visualised inner and outer struggle as the impetus for man passing from a rude state of nature to a citizen,
Herder A herder is a pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. ...
in 1784 saw a personified Nature promoting huge numbers of organisms competing for resources so that "the whole creation is at war", crowding "her creatures one upon another" to "produce the greatest number and variety of living beings in the least space, so that one crushes another, and an equilibrium of powers can alone bring peace to the creation." For William Smellie in 1790 a profusion of animal life improved "in proportion to the number of enemies they have to attack or evade", and by making animals feed upon each other, the system of animation and of happiness is extended to the greatest possible degree. In this view, Nature, instead of being cruel and oppressive, is highly generous and beneficent."
Erasmus Darwin Erasmus Robert Darwin (12 December 173118 April 1802) was an English physician. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor, and poet. His poems ...
in his ''Temple of Nature'' (published 1803) returned to Linnaean imagery, "From Hunger's arms the shafts of Death are hurl'd; And one great Slaughter‐house the warring world!"


Origins of the term

The term ''struggle for existence'' was already in use by this time. For example, in 1790
Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
proposed reformed elections as "a contest for distinction, not a struggle for existence", and in 1795 ''
The Monthly Review ''The Monthly Review'' (1749–1845) was an English periodical founded by Ralph Griffiths, a Nonconformist bookseller. The first periodical in England to offer reviews, it featured the novelist and poet Oliver Goldsmith as an early contributor ...
'' used it to describe trees when discussing Thomas Cooper's ''Some Information Respecting America''. In a
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
speech on 2 November 1797, Lord Gwydir said they were engaged "in a struggle for existence as a nation" in the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
.
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
included the phrase "a density of population implies a severe struggle for existence" in his novel ''
Sybil Sibyls were oracular women believed to possess prophetic powers in ancient Greece. Sybil or Sibyl may also refer to: Films * ''Sybil'' (1921 film) * ''Sybil'' (1976 film), a film starring Sally Field * ''Sybil'' (2007 film), a remake of the 19 ...
'' (1845), which was about the plight of the working class in Britain.


Malthus

In ''
An Essay on the Principle of Population An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...
'',
Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
argues that a population will increase exponentially if unchecked, while resources will only increase arithmetically. This is seen graphically in the adjacent image and is commonly referred to as the Malthusian curve. Malthus knew that with limited resources on earth, there would be competition among people to exist and survive. He coined the phrase the
Malthusian catastrophe Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, c ...
to explain how there were positive checks in human populations like famine and disease that kept the population from rising too quickly. The checks that exist on the human population growth result in a struggle for existence. Malthus also notes that the checks on the human population are more complicated than those on animals and plants.Petersen, William. ''Malthus.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 46-56, 1979. Malthus explains, for example, that a human check on population growth is the conscious decision not to reproduce because of financial burden. Malthus then explains that the main check on population growth is food. In periods of high food availability the population increases, while in periods of food shortages, the population decreases. Thus, "population rowthtends to oscillate around its means of subsistence." The combination of Malthus' "law of multiplication in geometrical progression" and "the law of limited population" leads to the idea of the struggle for existence. Despite these ideas, Malthus was a religious man and believed in divine laws that governed the natural world.


De Candolle and Lyell

In 1832,
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candol ...
concisely described the struggle between species of plants in a chapter about
parasitism Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
. His friend
Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...
quoted this passage in the second volume of ''
Principles of Geology ''Principles of Geology: Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes Now in Operation'' is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell that was first published in 3 volumes from 1830–1833. Ly ...
'': In this volume, Lyell strongly defended his view that species were fixed against ideas of
transmutation of species Transmutation of species and transformism are unproven 18th and 19th-century evolutionary ideas about the change of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The French ''Transformisme'' was a term used ...
. To explain
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
,
Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...
proposed that species did not become extinct, but constantly transformed to suit a changing environment: Lyell believed in
essentialism Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Plato's idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In ''Categories'', Aristotle sim ...
in which species were fixed so could not adapt to change, and became extinct. Hybrids had been proposed as evidence of transmutation; Lyell argued that they would not survive to make new species.


Darwin

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
initially shared the belief that nature was perfect and harmonious: after graduating as a student at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1831, he was convinced by
William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natural T ...
's ''
Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity ''Natural Theology or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity'' is an 1802 work of Christian apologetics and philosophy of religion by the English clergyman William Paley (1743–1805). The book expounds his arguments from natural ...
'' which saw
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
as purposeful design and presented population pressure optimistically; "it is a happy world after all". By mid January 1832, early in the ''Beagle'' voyage, Darwin saw geology from
Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...
's viewpoint. When the second volume of Lyell's ''
Principles of Geology ''Principles of Geology: Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes Now in Operation'' is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell that was first published in 3 volumes from 1830–1833. Ly ...
'' was delivered to the ''Beagle'' that November, Darwin accepted its argument that the "struggle for existence" disproved
transmutation of species Transmutation of species and transformism are unproven 18th and 19th-century evolutionary ideas about the change of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The French ''Transformisme'' was a term used ...
. He was reminded of
Malthusianism Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off. This event, c ...
when his sisters sent him out pamphlets by
Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (; 12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist often seen as the first female sociologist, focusing on racism, race relations within much of her published material.Michael R. Hill (2002''Harriet Martineau: Th ...
. Lyell had been unable to show the mechanism for introducing new species, and towards the end of the voyage Darwin noted that the distribution of
mockingbird Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...
s found on the
Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
raised doubts that species were fixed. Early in 1837
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
in London revealed that the mockingbirds were separate species: Darwin was spurred into intensive research and the inception of his theory to find the mechanism introducing species. Unconventionally, he sought information from animal breeders. In September 1838, while investigating variation, averages and population statistics, he read
Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Malt ...
’ ''
An Essay on the Principle of Population An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian an ...
'', and wrote: That sentence is on page 6 of the first volume of Malthus' ''Essay'', 6th edition: "It may safely be pronounced, therefore, that the population, when unchecked, goes on doubling itself every twenty five years, or increases in a geometrical ratio." At first Darwin suggested species competing for resources, six months later he saw competition between individuals of the same species: in mid March 1839 he wrote of the "dreadful but quiet war of organic beings. going on the peaceful woods. & smiling fields" in which "a grain of sand turns the balance", a month later he wrote, of the "innumerable seeds" of a
bulrush Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland grass-like plants *Sedge family (Cyperaceae): **''Cyperus'' **''Scirpus'' **'' Blysmus'' **''Bolboschoenus'' **''Scirpoides'' **''Isolepis'' **''Schoenoplectus'' **''Trichophorum'' *Typhacea ...
, "if a seed were produced with infinitesimal advantage it would have better chance of being propagated". He began to see a similarity between farmers selecting breeding livestock and what he came to call
natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...
, still thinking of this as a benevolent law ordained to create adaptation. In his 1842 ''sketch'' expanding his theory, Darwin wrote that "De Candolle's war of nature,—seeing contented face of nature,—may be well at first doubted", but "considering the enormous geometrical power of increase in every organism" countries "must be fully stocked" referring to "Malthus on man": later in the ''sketch'' he used the phrase "struggle of nature", and on the back of one sheet "struggle of existence". In his 1844 ''Essay'' Darwin began his section on ''Natural Means of Selection'' with "De Candolle, in an eloquent passage, has declared that all nature is at war, one organism with another, or with external nature", and described this "war" as "the doctrine of Malthus applied in most cases with ten-fold force." In later sections, including the summary, he used the phrase "struggle for existence", which he had read in several books including Lyell's ''Geology''. On 3 March 1857 he wrote chapter 5 of his "big book" on his theory, initially headed "On Natural Selection". The relevant section, titled "''Struggle of Nature''" had as an alternative title "''War of Nature''". At a later date he changed the chapter heading to "The Struggle For Existence As Bearing On Natural Selection" and made the section title "''The Struggle for existence''", making this his main theme to allow a broader interpretation than one of war between organisms: he used the phrase "in a very large sense" to include mutual dependency and the physical environmental as when "a plant on the edge of a desert is often said to struggle for existence" due to its need for moisture. In his " Abstract" of his book, quickly written and published as ''
On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...
'' in 1859, Darwin made his third chapter "Struggle for Existence" . After "a few preliminary remarks" relating it to natural selection, and acknowledgement that the "elder De Candolle and Lyell have largely and philosophically shown that all organic beings are exposed to severe competition", he wrote that: Darwin gradually included the idea that adaptations were not from birth, but rather from external pressures. This describes Darwin's change from
teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
explanation to transmutationist thought which was influential the change in Darwin's understanding of nature from 1837 to the 1850s. From Malthus, Darwin claims that the idea of a struggle for existence allowed him to see that favorable variations would be preserved while unfavorable variations would not resulting in the evolution new species. Thus, by the spring of 1837, Darwin had changed from supporting the idea that each species was independently created to supporting the notion that each species was descended from another species - the switch from
teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
to transmutationist views. In relation to the struggle for existence, Darwin explains in ''Origin of Species ''that "forms that are successful in the struggle for existence are deemed to be slightly better adapted than those with which they have had to compete for their places in the economy of nature".Ospovat, Dov. ''The Development of Darwin's Theory: Natural History, Natural Theology, and Natural Selection, 1838-1859.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, 7. Supporting this claim, in about 1855, Darwin noted that the struggle for existence would produce diversification – leading to Darwin's principle of divergence. Finally, Darwin stresses the fact that the struggle for existence is a metaphor for the larger natural workings rather than the literal struggle between two individual organisms. T.H. Huxley, commonly known as Darwin's Bulldog, clearly explains the struggle for existence in terms of natural selection. Huxley explains that the struggle for existence is concluded based on the fact that populations grow geometrically if unchecked but populations tend to stay constant in number over time.


Wallace

Alfred Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural sele ...
and Darwin independently arrived at the theory of evolution by natural selection. Similar to Darwin, Wallace used Malthus's idea of the struggle for existence to reach this conclusion. In addition, Wallace was influenced by
Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...
's ''
Principles of Geology ''Principles of Geology: Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes Now in Operation'' is a book by the Scottish geologist Charles Lyell that was first published in 3 volumes from 1830–1833. Ly ...
''.McKinney, H. Lewis. ''Wallace and Natural Selection.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972 Lyell discusses a struggle between organisms that causes one species to become extinct; Wallace may have taken the phrase struggle for existence from this example. Additionally, Wallace claimed that it was the collection of chapters 3–12 of the first volume of ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'' that helped him develop his theory. "In these chapters are comprised very detailed accounts from all available sources of the various causes which keep down the population of savage and barbarous nations." Then, in 1853, Wallace first used the phrase "struggle for existence" when discussing the issue of slavery. By 1855, Wallace had made connections between the struggle for existence and overall population. Wallace saw in Malthus's writing how there are different ways in which a population can be kept in check: "From "the law of multiplication in geometrical progression" (the fact that all species have the power to increase their number up to as much as a thousandfold per year) and "the law of limited population" (the fact that the number of living individuals of each species typically remains almost stationary), one deduces that there is a struggle for existence."Petersen, William. ''Malthus.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1979, 220. Wallace combined the idea of the struggle for existence with variation to argue for the idea of "survival of the fittest."


Alternative theories: Mutual aid and cooperation

In
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, the idea of "mutual aid" was used to explain evolution rather than the struggle for existence.
Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
wrote the book '' Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution ''in response to the idea of evolution by natural selection.Todes, Daniel Philip. ''Darwin's Malthusian metaphor and Russian evolutionary thought, 1859-1917''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1987. Print. Due to the vast landscape and lack of population in proportion to land, many people of Russia did not see the struggle for existence and could not relate to Malthus's ideas on population. Thus, it was concluded that cooperation, which is more successful in battling the abiotic environment, rather than competition is a driving factor in natural selection. Rather than a struggle for existence, a mutual struggle and mutual aid drives natural selection. Kropotkin believed that Wallace and Darwin saw the struggle for existence because of their coastal location and overpopulated areas of study. During the 1930s in the United States, a shift in scientific perception caused scientists to lean away from the use of the struggle for existence to explain Darwin's ideas, and more toward the idea of cooperation for mutual benefit.Mitman, Gregg. ''From the Population to Society: The Cooperative Metaphors of W.C. Allee and A.E. Emerson''. Norman : Journal of the History of Biology, 1988, 189. Print. The Chicago School was famous in the 20th century for its study of ecology. At the Chicago School scientists studied the cooperation and competition between organisms—findings included that competition worked "as both a cooperative and a disoperative force" at a population level.
Warder Clyde Allee Warder Clyde Allee (June 5, 1885 – March 18, 1955) was an American ecologist. He is recognized to be one of the great pioneers of American ecology. Schmidt, Karl Patterson. "Warder Allee: A Biographical Memoir", National Academy of Sciences. Wa ...
, famous for the
Allee effect The Allee effect is a phenomenon in biology characterized by a correlation between population size or density and the mean individual fitness (often measured as ''per capita'' population growth rate) of a population or species. History and backgro ...
, also supported this idea that cooperation in addition to the struggle for existence drove evolution. "Allee argued that 'individual-against-individual competition, such as brings about the peck-order type of social organization of flocks of hens, may serve to build a cooperative social unit better fitted to compete or to co-operate with other flocks at the group level than are socially unorganized groups.' Competition in this case could be considered cooperative, especially when viewed from the standpoint of group selection." Thus, although the idea of the struggle for existence remained except with the added complexity of cooperation within the struggle. Finally,
Alfred E. Emerson Alfred Edwards Emerson, Jr. (December 31, 1896 – October 3, 1976) was an American biologist, Professor of Zoology at the University of Chicago, a noted entomologist and leading authority on termites. Life and work Emerson was born in Ithaca ...
supported similar claims around this time period. Emerson saw a struggle for existence on the individual level, but he saw the struggle necessary on a population level for keeping the ecosystem in order. "For Emerson, cooperation was important because it contributed to greater homeostatic control; it was homeostasis that was the phenomenon of interest." Emerson believed that "what appeared to individual competition at one level might be group homeostasis on another."


Opposition

The main opposition to the struggle for existence came from natural theologists who believed in perfect harmony and perfection.Ospovat, Dov. ''The Development of Darwin's Theory: Natural History, Natural Theology, and Natural Selection, 1838-1859.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, 61. The belief that creatures were perfectly adapted to their environment held strong in society, and even Darwin did not abandon this belief until he returned from his voyage on the Beagle. The struggle for existence faced controversy in terms of its political implications.Petersen, William. ''Malthus.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1979, 70. Malthus was criticized for idea that the poor should practice restraint in marriage. "Malthus's criticisms of the Old Poor Law were more hateful to his adversaries than anything else he ever wrote." Malthus's understanding of the struggle for existence and his writing as a result caused controversy. Additionally, critics said that Malthus "never cleared his mind entirely of the dismal theory which he began."


Present-day application

Today, the struggle for existence is a widely accepted idea that helps to explain and justify the theory of natural selection. However, K.D. Bennett argues that the struggle for existence is only present on geographically small scales. He notes that "As climates fluctuate on Milankovitch time-scales, the tendency for populations to increase exponentially is realised, distributions increase enormously, and any struggle for existence is relaxed or eliminated."Bennett, K. D. Evolution and Ecology: The Pace of Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, 188.


Notes


References

* * * * * *{{Citation , last = Zirkle , first = Conway , date = 25 April 1941 , title =Natural Selection before the ''Origin of Species'' , journal =
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' is a quarterly journal published by the American Philosophical Society since 1838. The journal contains papers which have been read at meetings of the American Philosophical Society each April ...
, volume = 84 , issue =1 , place =Philadelphia , pages =71–123 , jstor = 984852 Charles Darwin