![Book Cover of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection](/image/book/on-the-origin-of-species-by-means-of-natural-selection.webp)
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection' Summary
Darwin's theory of evolution is based on key facts and the inferences drawn from them, which biologist Ernst Mayr summarized as follows:
- Every species is fertile enough that if all offspring survived to reproduce, the population would grow (fact).
- Despite periodic fluctuations, populations remain roughly the same size (fact).
- Resources such as food are limited and are relatively stable over time (fact).
- A struggle for survival ensues (inference).
- Individuals in a population vary significantly from one another (fact).
- Much of this variation is heritable (fact).
- Individuals less suited to the environment are less likely to survive and less likely to reproduce; individuals more suited to the environment are more likely to survive and more likely to reproduce and leave their heritable traits to future generations, which produces the process of natural selection (fact).
- This slowly effected process results in populations changing to adapt to their environments, and ultimately, these variations accumulate over time to form new species (inference).
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1859Author
![Charles Darwin image](/thumbs/image/author/charles-darwin.webp)
Charles Darwin
England
Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended over tim...
More on Charles DarwinDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books
![A Critical History of Greek Philosophy Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/a-critical-history-of-greek-philosophy.webp)
A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by Walter Terence Stace
It is a comprehensive analysis of Greek philosophical thought from its origins to the end of the Hellenistic period. This book was first published in...
![History of the United States, Vol. VI Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/history-of-the-united-states-vol-vi.webp)
History of the United States, Vol. VI by Charles A. Beard
Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive s...
![Father and Son Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/father-and-son.webp)
Father and Son by Edmond Gosse
Father and Son is a memoir by poet and critic Edmund Gosse, which he subtitled "a study of two temperaments." Edmund had previously published a biogra...
![The Secret of Dreams Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-secret-of-dreams-by-yacki-raizizun.webp)
The Secret of Dreams by Yacki Raizizun
The book “The secret of Dreams By Yacki Raizizun” discusses the Varieties of dreams, their significance, and how they impact on our physical life.
![The Ocean of Theosophy Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-ocean-of-theosophy.webp)
The Ocean of Theosophy by William Q. Judge
Judge wrote this book because he saw a need for a book about Theosophy that everyone could understand. Discussed are after-death states, reincarnation...
![Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/leviathan-or-the-matter-forme-and-power-of-a-common-wealth-ecclesiasticall-and-civil.webp)
Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil by Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly referred to as Leviathan, is a book written by Thomas H...
![A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/a-treatise-concerning-the-principles-of-human-knowledge.webp)
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge by George Berkeley
Does the world exist outside of your mind? In his groundbreaking philosophical work, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, George...
![On Duties Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/on-duties.webp)
On Duties by Marcus Tullius Cicero
De Officiis (On Duties or On Obligations) is a 44 BC treatise by Marcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his concepti...
![Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/discourse-on-the-method-of-rightly-conducting-ones-reason-and-of-seeking-truth-in-the-sciences.webp)
Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences by René Descartes
Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise publi...
![The Coming People Cover image](/thumbs/image/book/the-coming-people.webp)
The Coming People by Charles Fletcher Dole
Dole briefly sketches the history of life, and shows how it has a definite direction - toward the survival of the kind and gentle people. It's a chall...
Reviews for On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
No reviews posted or approved, yet...