First use of "survival of the fittest"

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#416

From: Stuart Barker (Prof)
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2007 05:59

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Calling Darwin scholars

I am trying to clarify Darwin's first use of 'survival of the 
fittest', and have found conflicting statements.

Christianen and Prout, Chapter 8, "Evolutionary Genetics From 
Molecules to Morphology", eds Singh and Krimbas (2000), Cambridge 
Univ. Press provide a quote from "Origin of Species" 6th Ed, 1872, 
and state that the remark including 'survival of the fittest' was 
added by Darwin in the 6th edition after suggestion and encouragement 
by Thomas Huxley.

Dawkins "The Extended Phenotype" (1982), Oxford Univ. Press - p. 179 
states that the term was adopted by Darwin (1866) at the urging of 
Wallace (1866) - with both referenced to letters from Wallace to 
Darwin, and Darwin to Wallace.

Both may well be correct, but my question is - if the term was 
adopted by Darwin in the letter to Wallace in 1866, did it appear in 
either the 4th or 5th editions? I do not have access to these 2 editions!

Stuart Barker


J.S.F. (Stuart) Barker FTSE
Emeritus Professor
School of Rural Science and Agriculture
University of New England
Armidale, NSW 2351
Australia

Honorary Professor
School of Integrative Biology
University of Queensland
Brisbane

HOME: 114 Cooke Road
Witta, Maleny
Qld 4552

Ph.  HOME ++ 61 7 5435 8365
email - sbarker@une.edu.au

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From: "Stuart Barker (Prof)" <sbarker@une.edu.au>
Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.evolution
Subject: First use of "survival of the fittest"
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2007 16:59:06 +1100
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