Herbert Spencer in his famous paper "The principles of biology" in 1864, says, "This survival of the fittest... is that which Mr. Darwin has called 'natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life'." I have very often envisaged the possibility of this law perpetuating into our daily lives and its possible outcomes. Not a very comforting thought, is it ? The more I contemplated on this, the more apparent were the foot-prints of it's carnage. Extinction has been on a steady proliferation leaving its evident impact on our already cacophonous existence.
There has been umpteen opinions on the theory of evolution, but all concur the fact that the struggle for life is an instinctive action of all living things. The better
entity, not necessarily the one at the top of the food chain, survives by eliminating the inferior species. We have arguments that disdains man's will to have more, which I would deny with great indignation. It is his innate nature to strive for his progress. As John Nash once said, the best probability for success lies in the working towards the betterment of the group. Group at a macro level corresponds to humanity where as at a more granular level boils to communities. Those who think this would be a boon, think twice; for once we have achieved the best for us, the 'us' would no longer exist. Elimination would begin within the community.
If you consider my prior statement a whim, please find real examples in real world. The dinosaurs once reigned supreme on earth though through more brawn than brain. Their annihilation came about by mutual carnage, the law of the survival of the fittest. Guess they lacked the knowledge that Mr.Nash possessed. If you still fail to see the reason, 'competition' is a usage of great artifice which provides an efficient camouflage for the 'survival of fittest' (SOF) rule. When we say that today's world is competitive, what we inadvertently imply is SOF. A person vanquishes another for better education, better opportunities and better life. We forge a loser for every winner that we create.
Theories are quite frightening I would say, with great reticence though, as they expose to us the glimpses of what the future holds for us. This particular theory of SOF is no exception.. It never ceases to amaze me when I think of what would go through my mind if I am found the most powerful being after subjugating the rest of the world, "What next... ?" Well, the search goes on....
Posts
