Most of the recombinants were unfit and perished, so we see only the survivors today. Many early natural philosophers, Simplicius remarks, had this idea. That, if true, is remarkable, for it suggests that in Aristotle’s time the idea of selection as a source of order was a commonplace. Certainly Epicurus, a generation younger than Aristotle, gave an even more elaborate selection-based cosmogeny than did Empedocles – at least he did if Lucretius’ Epicurean verses are to be relied on.
