Before you read this posting you’ll need to read the previous two:

The struggle for survival is neither cruel nor triumphant (part I)

and

The struggle for survival - Media and Education (part II)

I ended the last post by claiming that the struggle for life is not cruel, but causal. So what do I mean by causal?

If you recall this entire stream of argument stems from a video of two orca pods attacking a grey whale cow and cub; there was nothing cruel in the attack, it’s just that the orcas were hungry (there was some idle speculation in the video that the orcas were “teaching” their young attack skills since the cow and cub eventually escaped, but that’s not relevant, they could have easily continued with the attack and killed the pair).

What makes this whole affair causal is that over time (a very long time) organisms have evolved the necessary skills and physical characteristics to eat more often than others, evade being eaten more often than others, and to procreate more often than others. That’s the casual nature of this whole struggle. In each struggle for survival act an individual’s characteristics are put to the test. Slightly faster, slightly slower, a little more coloured like the surroundings, a little a better eye-sight, a little more protective of your young, etc...

What exists today, the myriad of flora and fauna, is all a result of the previous struggles between individuals within populations (remember individuals do not evolve, it’s populations that do).

For us to look at the variety of life on this planet without regards to what the individuals of each species had to endure over the history of life is to be reckless with the facts. Pretty flowers, tasty fruit, cute and cuddly creatures, animals with big teeth that growl, such are the products of the struggle for survival.

John Daicopoulos