Out of many of the metaphors that Charles Darwin uses, one that sticks out greatly is that nature is a war. This metaphor can be seen in very many places–even those where he relates nature to something completely different like a web or a tree. No matter what it is, evolution in general comes down to the survival of the fittest. While all the metaphors are valid, the war is a reality that we all have to live with–one of the reasons we can never truly be at peace…because
For instance, in chapter III, Struggle for Existence, Darwin states that there is always some sort of destruction that an organism suffers within it’s lifetime. This struggle can be with “the same species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or with the physical conditions of life” (66). So the first signs of war–the constant destruction that one species needs to fear. Darwin is basically saying in evolution that there is always going to be a battle to fight. That no matter what there will always be a force that needs to be evaded or overcome–that life is not simple and nature can be not only the battleground but sometimes the enemy itself. To use Darwin’s web metaphor–it’s like a bug being stuck in a spider’s web–though in the war you have the opportunity to fight back.
Another point that is brought up with the war metaphor is the fact that Darwin references that other species are definitely a threat to all others. For instance, he uses the example of humans needing to kill others to survive: “We see no destruction falling on them, and we forget thousands of them are annually slaughtered for food”(68). This shows that species do need to prey on each other for survival–and that is another battle itself. Just the fact they are hunting is violent–killings are going on within the all out war of existence. This is part of the war that represents the many battles that need to be fought and won–and sometimes so many battle are won that a species is taken out of contending. Whether it be from overkill, disease, or natural disaster–the point is that they’ve lost the battle, which in this case also means the war.
Nature is, according and depicted by Darwin, a place that is not so nice. War is constant between it and it’s organisms, between creature and creature. Darwin, recognized not only that everything was at war but that “the war of nature is not incessant” (79). There are times where the fittest survive and thrive, and though it means they had to battle to win, they did win in the end. However it also means that every species needs to try it’s best in order to obtain happiness, because “the happy survive and multiply” (79). Perhaps that is the reason that all humans strive for happiness…because they know achieving it means triumphing over nature and winning the war we’ve been at since the moment we evolved. Winning means confirming that we exist.
While I did not write about this for my blog post, I wrote about this for the last quiz, and thought that this was a great metaphor. I interpreted it as a metaphor to depict the life cycle. Every war has a starting point, several different climax points, and a resolution. I think this applies to the struggle for existence as well. Each species has to have a starting point, several different points in which they either struggle or have high moments in their efforts for existence, and a resolution, or ending point, which could represent death. I think this is a great metaphor to the picture of how a species operates in their struggle for existence.
Do you think that there is something potentially insidious about the war metaphor to describe our relation to the natural world (or really the relation of any species to other species)? If there are winners and losers and if we are constantly competing then is there time for collaboration, for working together, even for play & playfulness? I like your idea that “winning means confirming that we exist” (what a great phrasing!), but I’d be interested to hear how you might answer these other questions. Great posts and comments!