In this book, Richard Dawkins argues for the "gene-centered" view of evolution: in other words, that natural selection operates at the level of the gene rather than the organism, and that organisms are responsible for transmitting genes across generations.Dawkins explains that even though we are born "selfish," we can overcome this selfishness by developing and improving ourselves as human beings through altruism and education. In one chapter that I enjoyed, he explains that "nice people finish first" - i.e. they're more likely to survive and prosper. He also argues against the premise that evolutionary theory somehow inspires selfish, aggressive, and competitive behavior.
I also enjoyed the chapter on "memes" - units of cultural transmission - as important contributors to human evolution (i.e. songs, rituals, religions, prejudices, etc.).
I have to admit that a lot of what Dawkins was talking about was over my head. I understood most of it - but I wasn't always sure how it all fit in with his overall premise. I also didn't find some of the material that interesting just because I don't consider myself to be so wrapped up in the whole debate about evolution as a lot of people are!
This has always been an interesting subject to me. Placing the will to survive at the genetic level reduces the importance of social behavior that we observe in the Animal Kingdom. Where would altruism fit in the gene-centered concept? Granted, altruism is almost exclusively human... however, it has been observed in other species as well. Perhaps the altruism stems from an internal notion that, as a species that thrives in a group, what's best for one of us is best for all. Perhaps the gene-centered, everyone chromosome for itself will become more visible when resources are more scarce.
ReplyDeleteEither way, I think I'll be reading this book :-)