Term
natural selection
The process Darwin described: individuals with traits useful for survival are more likely to survive and leave offspring, and over many generations species change.
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, Charles Darwin
Explained in
- The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, Charles Darwin
- The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, Charles Darwin
The main mechanism of evolution according to Darwin: of the many individuals born, those whose traits suit their conditions of life better are more likely to survive and leave offspring.
- On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
The book's central idea: the preservation of useful inherited changes in the struggle for life and the weeding out of harmful ones. Darwin chose the name for its likeness to the selection breeders practise.
- The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins
The process by which variants better suited to their conditions leave more offspring and gradually become more common.
- Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe, Brian Greene
The process by which variants that survive and reproduce better in their conditions become more common over time.