Thomas Malthus was a British writer and philosopher who was a predecessor of Charles Darwin and an influence on his work. Malthus is best known for his idea that populations will grow faster than food supplies, and so eventually the populations will reach a “catastrophe,” causing some of the population to die off. Though Malthus is mentioned only briefly in The Origin of Species, his ideas were clearly influential on Darwin, specifically on Darwin’s ideas about survival of the fittest. This idea suggested that species were in competition for limited resources. Today, many of Malthus’s ideas about overpopulation are discredited, but they remain historically important and are still debated.
Thomas Malthus Quotes in The Origin of Species
The The Origin of Species quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas Malthus or refer to Thomas Malthus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
A struggle for existence inevitably follows from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Many cases are on record showing how complex and unexpected are the checks and relations between organic beings, which have to struggle together in the same country.
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Thomas Malthus Quotes in The Origin of Species
The The Origin of Species quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas Malthus or refer to Thomas Malthus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3
Quotes
A struggle for existence inevitably follows from the high rate at which all organic beings tend to increase.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Many cases are on record showing how complex and unexpected are the checks and relations between organic beings, which have to struggle together in the same country.
