Charles darwin proposed the idea that those individuals best suited to their environment will survive and reproduce, and their traits will become more common in a population. he called this idea "natural selection" and explained it as the mechanism for how populations evolve, or change, over time. this idea is widely accepted and has been tested through many experiments that support the idea, but cannot yet be considered proven or a fact. darwin’s idea is most likely called the great experiment of evolution by natural selection. the hypothesis of evolution by natural selection. the theory of evolution by natural selection. the law of evolution by natural selection.