Chapter IV: Natural Selection
The core theoretical chapter introducing the mechanism by analogy with artificial selection.
Read in Books4Free →Natural Selection as Mechanism
From On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Darwin's central thesis: heritable variations that confer advantage in the struggle for existence tend to be preserved, producing gradual modification of species over time.
Chapter III: Struggle for Existence
Establishes the Malthusian pressure that drives selection.
Read in Books4Free →Chapter IV, closing passage
Famous line: 'Natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinising, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest.'
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