据考证,生物学家达尔文“优胜劣汰、适者生存”的进化学说,或是受到经济学之父亚当·斯密《国富论》一书的启发而提出的。在《国富论》中,亚当·斯密指出,自利对社会是有利的,“我们的晚餐不是来自屠夫、酿酒商人或面包师的仁慈之心,而是因为他们对自己的利益特别关注。”斯密还指出,自利是迫不得已的,不能不为之。这即是“适者生存”的思想了。后来的经济学发展,大体因袭了斯密的体系。经济行为人是理性自利的成为经济学的基础假设,并进一步被具体化为消费者寻求最大效用或满足程度、企业追求最大利润。这一发展为数学的引入和应用,使经济学披上现代科学的外衣,无疑发挥了巨大作用, According to textual research, the biologist Darwin ’s theory of evolution of the survival of the fittest, the survival of the fittest, or inspired by the book Adam Smith on the Wealth of Nations, the father of economics. In “Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith pointed out that self-interest is good for society. “Our dinner is not from the kindness of the butchers, wine merchants, or bakers, but because of their special interest in their own interests Smith also pointed out that self-interest is a last resort and must not be neglected. This is the ”survival of the fittest" idea. Later economic development, generally followed the Smith system. Economic agents are rational self-interest to become the basic hypothesis of economics, and further be concrete as consumers seek maximum utility or degree of satisfaction, the pursuit of maximum profits of enterprises. This development undoubtedly played a great role in introducing and applying mathematics and putting economics in the cloak of modern science.