In human society we find the selection of families, societies,
nations, and civilizations going on, but mainly as the result of the
survival of the fittest individuals.
There may very probably be a struggle for existence between organs
or cells in the body of each individual. The amount of nutriment in
the body is a more or less fixed quantity; and if one organ seizes
more than its fair share, others may or must diminish for lack. But
the limit to this usurpation must apparently be set by the crowding
out of those individuals in which it is carried too far. Natural
selection, so to speak, leaves the individual responsible for the
distribution of the nutriment among the organs, and spares or
destroys the individual as this usurpation proves for its advantage
or disadvantage.
It makes its verdict much as the judges at a great poultry or dog
show count the series of points, giving each one of them a certain
value on a certain scale, and then award the prize to the individual
having the highest aggregate on the whole series. Any such
illustration is very liable to mislead; I wish to emphasize that
fitness to survive is determined by the aggregate of the qualities
of an individual.
But an animal having one organ of great value or capacity may thus
carry off the prize, even though its other organs deserve a much
lower mark.
Pages:
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358