The Selfish Gene

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The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins

Science & Nature

Aug 1, 2018

Richard Dawkins was only thirty-three in 1976 when he published The Selfish Gene, a landmark of popular science that summarized a genetic view of evolution then gaining currency among biologists. It was such a success that its title has entered the lexicon. But the title, as Dawkins has admitted, is a bit of a misnomer. He doesn’t believe in a selfishness gene that helps certain organisms survive and propagate. Instead, he argues that Darwin’s survival of the fittest takes place not at the level of the species or even the single organism, but at the much deeper level of genetic material. Other kinds of “replicators,” not just genes, have evolutionary force, and to fully understand evolution, Dawkins writes, we need to understand not just biology but culture, not just genes but memes. And that makes The Selfish Gene an essential book not just for scientists, but for anyone evolving through our tumultuous intellectual age.

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Thomas Downey

Dec 4, 2018

This book should be on life's syllabus. After reading The Selfish Gene I feel like people that haven't read it are living without ever really knowing life.

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Cian

Apr 6

Excellently written book that provides the reader witha fundamental understanding of life an dthe world around them from teh very first principles of what life physically is.

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