--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was Herbert Spencer, not Charles…" description: "\"It was Herbert Spencer, not Charles Darwin, who coined the phrase Survival of the Fittest.\" — John Kenneth Galbraith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_evolution_it-was-herbert-spencer-not-charles-darwi_2585579.png" --- # It was Herbert Spencer, not Charles Darwin, who coined the… ![“It was Herbert Spencer, not Charles Darwin, who coined the phrase Survival of the Fittest.” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_evolution_it-was-herbert-spencer-not-charles-darwi_2585579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_evolution_it-was-herbert-spencer-not-charles-darwi_2585579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/246/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_evolution_it-was-herbert-spencer-not-charles-darwi_2585579.png) > “It was Herbert Spencer, not Charles Darwin, who coined the phrase Survival of the Fittest.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The phrase “survival of the fittest” was coined by Spencer, not Darwin, highlighting misattribution. **In simple terms:** Spencer, not Darwin, coined “survival of the fittest”. Key Takeaway Correct the origin of a common phrase. Themes evolution misinformation history Mood educational critical Type historical scientific When to use this quote - education - science communication - debate - media reporting Key Concepts evolutionary theory public discourse Questions to Reflect On - Why do we keep attributing the phrase to Darwin? - How does correct attribution affect understanding? A Different Perspective Misattributions persist despite correction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charles-darwin/) [Darwin Coined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwin-coined-1815547/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/herbert-spencer/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spencer/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Survival Fittest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-fittest-274106/) [Survival of the fittest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-of-the-fittest/) ## Related quotes > [“equally eagerly from the nineteenth-century polymath Herbert Spencer, the first truly global thinker – who, after reading Darwin, coined the term ‘survival of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/equally-eagerly-from-the-nineteenth-century-polymath-herbert-spencer/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [The expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer of the Survival of the Fittest is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-expression-often-used-by-mr-herbert-spencer-of-the-survival-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Sir Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, first coined the term “eugenics” in his 1883 book Human Faculty and Its Development.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-letts/sir-francis-galton-a-cousin-of-charles-darwin-first-coined-the-term/) [Elizabeth Letts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-letts/) > [“This survival of the fittest implies multiplication of the fittest. { The phrase 'survival of the fittest' was not originated by Charles Darwin ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/this-survival-of-the-fittest-implies-multiplication-of-the-fittest/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [When most of us hear the phrase, 'survival of the fittest,' we assume it originated with Charles Darwin. 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Psychology will be securely based on the foundation already laid by Mr. Herbert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/in-the-future-i-see-open-fields-for-more-important-researches/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection, in order to mark its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-have-called-this-principle-by-which-each-slight-variation-if-useful-2/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwinism met with such overwhelming success because it provided, on the basis of inheritance, the ideological weapons for race and well as class rule…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/darwinism-met-with-such-overwhelming-success-because-it-provided-on/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [With survival of the fittest, everyday is a challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/with-survival-of-the-fittest-everyday-is-a-challenge/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [“This is the contrary of the Darwin that we mainly receive from the Darwinists. 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