Original Publication Year: 1976 (I have the 2011 Audible edition
however which includes extensive end notes and two additional chapters first
added in a 1989 edition.)
Genre(s): Non-fiction, Biology
Series: NA
Awards: None
Format: Audio (from Audible)
Narrated by: Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward
The Selfish Gene is an important and somewhat controversial
book in the world of evolutionary biology.
In it Dawkins presents his own and other’s theory that the
gene is the primary mechanism of evolution. It is evolution not just from the
perspective of the gene but being wholly absorbed with the gene and its
survival.
“We are survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.”
At the basis his argument is that all living organisms are
simply a repository (“survival machine”) meant to protect the replicators
(genes) and ensure their survival into the future. In his own more detailed words:
“Individuals are not stable things, they are fleeting. Chromosomes too are shuffled into oblivion, like hands of cards soon after they are dealt. But the cards themselves survive the shuffling. The cards are the genes. The genes are not destroyed by crossing-over, they merely change partners and march on. Of course they march on. That is their business. They are the replicators and we are their survival machines. When we have served our purpose we are cast aside. But genes are denizens of geological time: genes are forever.”
First of all I have to say I wish Dawkins had been my
Genetics and/or Evolutionary Biology professor in College. He has quite a brilliant way of
presenting complex information and systems in their simplest form. His
presentation of his theory and the evidence and biology supporting it not
only allows anyone to understand it but also to go further and speculate on what
it all means. Not to mention that it is obvious from his narration that he is an engaging and animated
speaker.
It did take me a couple chapters to get involved with the
book. There are one or two prefaces and
then the first chapter or two focus mostly on explaining basic genetics; genes,
chromosomes, alleles, the process of meiosis (sexual reproduction) etc… which
was a nice primer and review but not terribly engaging. It is when he begins to present the selfish
or “immortal” gene theory and elucidating the evidence for this mechanism of
evolution and contrasting with other theories such as group selection etc… that
things get really interesting. If you
have any interest in biology, evolution or genetics, even if you have not
studied any of it in school, there is a good chance you will be drawn in to his
narrative.
One question I had throughout was how to explain us pesky humans. The selfish gene theory necessitates that
altruism only makes sense with close relatives, who share some proportion of ones
genes. It makes it hard to explain why humans on a regular basis will endanger themselves to help other humans (or even non-humans) whom
they have no relation to. The two
additional chapters that were added in the 1989 edition address this specifically. I found the idea of the Prisoner’s Dilemma
as an argument for altruism that doesn’t negate the theory of the selfish gene
utterly fascinating. Also I was astonished to hear Dawkins start talking about
Memes. I hadn’t realized it but this book
is the origin of that term though his meaning is slightly different than how it
gets used on the internet. If you are interested here is an interview
with Dawkins where he speaks a little about his meaning and how the word as it
is currently used is slightly different. He proposes that Memes are cultures
replicators. In short his message is however:
“We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators.”
There were a couple
things that weren’t great. He uses the
copious end notes to address some of the ensuing commentary that has been caused
by the book since 1976. In most cases it
is used very effectively to answer, scientifically, a significant criticism or to
point out more recent research but sometimes it did feel like it was used to
snipe back at some of the theory’s critics which I didn’t love.
I also found the dual
narration unnecessarily complex. Basically, I’m not sure why there was a split
into two narrators. Both Dawkins and
Lalla Ward are great readers but it wasn’t clear to me why one person read at
one point and the other read at other points. It just seemed like these weird
random shifts that were jarring to me.
Final Verdict: A must read, and more than that an enjoyable
read, for anyone with an interest in evolutionary biology or the way the world
works. 4 out of 5 Stars: ✪✪✪✪
Shortly after
finishing the book, this tweet came through on my feed from the satirical magazine The
Onion. I thought it hilariously and serendipitously appropriate:
Moron Stepfather Takes Care Of Child Who Doesn’t Have His Genetic Material http://t.co/umF2Ji8RIu
— The Onion (@TheOnion) November 30, 2014
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