Quotation
Last reviewed:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Charles Darwin · Thinkers beyond philosophy · Modern · 1963
What does it mean?
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Leon C. Megginson, a management professor, wrote this in 1963 as a lesson he drew from Darwin. Darwin did not write it. 'Survival of the fittest' is Herbert Spencer's phrase, which Darwin later used, and it is also not this sentence. A rival reading says Megginson captured the spirit of natural selection for managers, so the slide is a useful translation.
Did Charles Darwin really say this?
The library’s label is Misattributed. Leon C. Megginson, a management professor, wrote this thought in 1963 as a lesson he drew from Darwin. Darwin did not write it. 'Survival of the fittest' is Herbert Spencer's phrase, which Darwin later used, and it is also not this sentence. The line is a business-school reading of evolution.
Where it comes from
Leon C. Megginson, 1963, paraphrasing what he took to be Darwin's lesson
Approximate date: 1963.
How to use it
Adapt when the evidence says the situation changed, in a business or a habitat. Cite Megginson if you cite anyone, and do not let a strategy meeting borrow the Origin of Species. The Origin's final paragraph, which is his, is about grandeur in the view of life as descent with modification, not about corporate agility.
A mindset reading
This shows the moment of the change: a professor's gloss, then a century of slides. The gloss can be discussed as Megginson's. It cannot be discussed as chapter and verse of the Origin, because it is not in the book.
Understand the philosophy
Darwin's real caution about ignorance and confidence is in this library. Putting that line next to Megginson's is the cleanest demonstration of the difference between a source and a vibe.
- change
- knowledge
- society
FAQ
What does it mean?
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Leon C. Megginson, a management professor, wrote this in 1963 as a lesson he drew from Darwin. Darwin did not write it. 'Survival of the fittest' is Herbert Spencer's phrase, which Darwin later used, and it is also not this sentence. A rival reading says Megginson captured the spirit of natural selection for managers, so the slide is a useful translation.
Did Charles Darwin really say this?
Misattributed. Leon C. Megginson, a management professor, wrote this thought in 1963 as a lesson he drew from Darwin. Darwin did not write it. 'Survival of the fittest' is Herbert Spencer's phrase, which Darwin later used, and it is also not this sentence. The line is a business-school reading of evolution.
Which work is it in?
Leon C. Megginson, 1963, paraphrasing what he took to be Darwin's lesson Approximate date: 1963.