Canonical · Evolution & Life · Book

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins · 1976

"Natural selection is best understood as operating at the level of the gene, not the individual or the species — organisms are best thought of as survival machines built by genes to make more copies of themselves."

The idea

Dawkins reframed a century of evolutionary biology around one shift in perspective: stop asking what's good for the animal, and ask what's good for the gene riding inside it. Everything else follows.

Why it works

The takeaway — recall it first

Kin Selection and Inclusive Fitness

"Evolution doesn't just favor genes that help the individual survive — it favors genes that help copies of themselves survive, wherever they happen to sit, including in relatives."

W.D. Hamilton · PaperContinue→