'Selfish', when applied to genes, doesn't mean 'selfish' at all. Some people find this metaphor entirely clear, while others find it confusing, misleading or simply redundant to ascribe mental attributes to something that is mindless. The contention is that the genes that get passed on are the ones whose consequences serve their own implicit interests, not necessarily those of the organism, much less any larger level. 3.1 Genes can reproduce at the expense of the organismĭescribing genes with the term 'selfish' is not meant to imply that they have actual motives or will – only that their effects can be accurately described as if they do.Memetics has become the subject of many studies since the publication of the book. The book also coins the term meme for a unit of human cultural evolution analogous to the gene, suggesting that such 'selfish' replication may also model human culture, in a different sense. As a result, populations will tend towards an evolutionarily stable strategy. An organism is expected to evolve to maximize its inclusive fitness – the number of copies of its genes passed on globally (rather than by a particular individual). Dawkins coined the term selfish gene as a provocative way of expressing the gene-centered view of evolution, which holds that evolution is best viewed as acting on genes, and that selection at the level of organisms or populations almost never overrides selection based on genes. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. The Selfish Gene is a very popular and somewhat controversial book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. The Selfish Gene Original cover from the painting The Expectant Valley by zoologist Desmond Morris

The selfish gene pages