Author: Richard Dawkins
I read a dog-eared copy of this book and it has a little sign on it that says it is the 30th Anniversary edition. It is amazing how widely this has been read and yet, I found the treatise both novel and fascinating. I was expecting a lecture on Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" theory, but was pleasantly surprised to see this recast and retold from the viewpoint of our "selfish" genes.
Richard starts his story from the time the earth was a primordial soup of simple molecules that randomly combined with one another and stumbled upon a way to replicate themselves. Thence were born the "replicators" that are the heroes in this story. These evolved into the DNA strands and all their varied incarnations that we have today. According to Richard our bodies are mere "vehicles" for these replicators to propagate. The replicators have a singular purpose which is to multiply and carry forth through time, and the fittest and most numerous of them survive and take over. Occasionally they undergo mutation and result in better or worse replicators. The worse ones die out and the better ones preferentially survive hence creating a new breed of replicators, one that is by definition better that their parents.
The book also goes into more complex discussions on whether genes are the only kind of replicators we know, or could there be others. Furthermore, are these replicators most effective in a single organism, or could there be some kind of group selection that is possible as well. With the exception of a colony of bees or ants, most of the genes that share a common replication channel, tend to be in a single organism like the human body. Another interesting question is do the genes only manipulate the body they are in, or can they have effects on other organisms as well. Richard elucidates several examples where one species makes use of another to propagate its genes (cuckoos, ants, etc.)
Overall, this is an awesome book that is a must read for anyone interested in the origin of our species. Although Richard avoids any scientific notation and does not require any background in biology, the book makes its case with some rigorous logical arguments that will take some focus and attention.
I read a dog-eared copy of this book and it has a little sign on it that says it is the 30th Anniversary edition. It is amazing how widely this has been read and yet, I found the treatise both novel and fascinating. I was expecting a lecture on Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" theory, but was pleasantly surprised to see this recast and retold from the viewpoint of our "selfish" genes.
Richard starts his story from the time the earth was a primordial soup of simple molecules that randomly combined with one another and stumbled upon a way to replicate themselves. Thence were born the "replicators" that are the heroes in this story. These evolved into the DNA strands and all their varied incarnations that we have today. According to Richard our bodies are mere "vehicles" for these replicators to propagate. The replicators have a singular purpose which is to multiply and carry forth through time, and the fittest and most numerous of them survive and take over. Occasionally they undergo mutation and result in better or worse replicators. The worse ones die out and the better ones preferentially survive hence creating a new breed of replicators, one that is by definition better that their parents.
The book also goes into more complex discussions on whether genes are the only kind of replicators we know, or could there be others. Furthermore, are these replicators most effective in a single organism, or could there be some kind of group selection that is possible as well. With the exception of a colony of bees or ants, most of the genes that share a common replication channel, tend to be in a single organism like the human body. Another interesting question is do the genes only manipulate the body they are in, or can they have effects on other organisms as well. Richard elucidates several examples where one species makes use of another to propagate its genes (cuckoos, ants, etc.)
Overall, this is an awesome book that is a must read for anyone interested in the origin of our species. Although Richard avoids any scientific notation and does not require any background in biology, the book makes its case with some rigorous logical arguments that will take some focus and attention.
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