Question

Explain the basic postulates of Darwinism.

Answer 1

The basic postulates of Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection are:

1. Enormous fertility: All living beings produce more offspring than can possibly survive given the limited resources.
2. Struggle for existence: Due to overproduction and limited resources, organisms compete for survival; this struggle can be within species (intraspecific), between species (interspecific), or with the environment (extraspecific).
3. Variations under nature: No two individuals in a species are exactly alike; variations exist and can be heritable. Only those heritable variations participate in evolution.
4. Natural selection or survival of the fittest: Individuals with favorable variations that increase their chances of survival tend to survive and reproduce more, while less adapted individuals are eliminated.
5. Origin of species: Over time, accumulation of favorable variations leads to new adaptations, and descendants become distinct from their ancestors, resulting in the emergence of new species.