ABSTRACT
Reproductive success can be conferred by any anatomical, physiological, or behavioral characteristic. Well-adaptedness is inferred only a posteriori, exclusively in terms of relative reproductive success, that is, the number of offspring of individuals characterized by a certain genetic profile that survive to reproduction age relative to the numbers of offspring of individuals characterized by other genetic profiles. According to the theory of natural selection, the differences giving the more fit more chances to survive and to reproduce are induced by accidental variations in their genetic makeup. As is generally known, the natural selection theory of adaptation is the core of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Among nationalists a sort of vulgar Darwinism stands out as a rationalization of war. F. von Bernhardi in his book, Germany and the Next War, writes: The struggle for existence is the life of Nature, the basis of all healthy development.
