A Macat Analysis of Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene
Forfatter
Nicola Davis
Beskrivelse
Richard Dawkins’ 1976 investigation into the science of evolution has become an enormous success, selling over a million copies in 25 languages.
Drawing on the work of renowned evolutionary scientists, Dawkins makes his argument about evolution by focusing on the gene itself. While others considered evolution to occur at the level of the individual or the group, here Dawkins sees the process of natural selection differently.
For him, the individual is nothing more than a vessel for a gene—a selfish gene—whose only impulse is to guarantee it survives into the future, even if that means the death of the individual.
Complex, controversial and very readable, The Selfish Gene invented a whole new language for the discussion of science. Taking complicated scientific analysis out of the laboratory and direct to the general reading public, the book not only opened eyes to new ways of seeing, but also successfully introduced the author who would go on to create a sensation with 2006’s best-selling The God Delusion.