The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary Edition (Oxford Landmark Science)

My Copy: Oxford Univ. Press: 30th Anniversary Edition (Hardbound) There is much more to "The Selfish Gene" than is advertised, even in the most glowing of its reviews. In fact, I (not a biologist, but fascinated by evolution ever since "dinosaurs" and the first high school biology course) have been vaguely aware of this book since its initial wave of rave reviews many years ago, but never bothered to read it because as it was advertised its theme(s) always seemed pretty obvious. But something recently piqued my curiosity again, not sure what that was now, and after reading the prefatory material online I finally decided to take a look. After reading quickly through the first 3 chapters, it became apparent that there was a great deal more underlying the book than was overtly presented, that it was not just an over-extended, over-simplified, over-popularized, metaphorical presentation .... but rather that its metaphorical treatment is painstakingly faithful to an elaborate, closely-reasoned, even rigorous, scientific underpinning. At which point, I stopped reading and began again from the beginning, first the prefatory material, then from page 1, this time more slowly and more carefully, taking care to appreciate and reflect on all the markers of the underlying basis and their implications. This is a wonderful book, even beautiful in many respects, from its initial beginning (at the "beginning") with the purely chemical/physics "evolution" of the primordial soup (cast suggestively in the form of biological evolution); to the consequent continuity with the creation of "replicators", elementary "survival" cells, genes, and the beginnings of life forms; to the important distinction between genes and individuals, as genes and their "survival vehicles" (the first cells and "us", for example); to the nicely extended notion of "gene" itself, required by underlying scientific reality; to a clear presentation of the conflict between Darwinian and "group" selection and evolution; to the nature of evolution, operating (in distinct ways) in terms of both genes and individuals, aka both genes and "their" survival vehicles, aka both chemical/physics and biological evolution; to genetic kinship and its very special selective and social implications; ... ; to the delicious End Notes to the 1st eleven chapters, which provide much supporting and fascinating material. "The Selfish Gene" goes on to clarify not only its expressed subject, the nature and genesis of Selfishness and Altruism, but to make clear the error, scope, and source of various (idealistic, and often political) arguments and ideas centered around group selection fallacies, including the genesis of (ill-conceived) "group-beneficial", cooperative "functions" vs. (individual) evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) and kinship. It also sheds light on many other commonly-posed questions, among them: the fundamental "reason" for the 50:50 sex ratio (despite the number of different breeding strategies observed for male competitors); the driving source of the natural variability upon which (continuing) evolution depends; the variety and shadings of competing "strategies", which can be both conceived and advantageous, clustered around a given regard (partly on account of environmental inconstancy), one incidental, unintended but important, implication of which is that this is itself an evolutionary driving source of the natural variability upon which (continuing) evolution operates; .... and NOT so commonly posed: that "In its long journey down the generations therefore, an [ANY] average gene will spend approximately half its time sitting in male bodies, and the other half sitting in female bodies", and thus genes will generally contribute positively to both sexes, sometimes in very different ways, and that, indeed, many "purely male / purely female" effects pass (unexpressed) through many bodies of the opposite sex; and much, much more. Beautifully written and packed with wonderful insights, "The Selfish Gene" is not only well-worth the read, but will amply reward the reader in proportion to the thoughtfulness and reflection with which they read it. In fact, there is so much food for thought in the story-lines and examples (e.g., the fig, "lichenization", and organelle endosymbiosis) provided in "The Selfish Gene", that one must often stop and consider, at length and at leisure, the questions which it provokes or which Dawkins rhetorically poses. I will, however, amend Dawkins' wonderful characterization of "us" (Preface to the First Edition, p. xxi): “We are survival machines --- robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes. This is a truth which still fills me with astonishment. Though I have known it for years, I never seem to get fully used to it.” ...... by grafting it to my own previous synopsis, with the result: "We are Conditioned-Reaction Engines [built on Basic Senses + Unconditioned Reflexes (among them innate Kantian "Categories", instincts, emotions, etc.)] built as Gene-Survival "Machines" [genetically "programmed" to serve the "interests" of our genes] = Pavlo-Kantian Conditioned-Reaction, Darwin-Dawkins Gene-Survival Automatons.

Given the sloppy research and broad proclamations in Dawkins' more recent books (a tendency I'm tempted to attribute to arrogance, for a variety of reasons I shall not get into here), it is something of a shock to go back and read his older work, which, despite being a work of 'popular science,' is rigorous in its logic and actually contributed a great deal to changing the modern understanding of how evolution works in the long haul. People could debate all day about which of his books are the 'best,' but certainly nothing more provocative and influential has issued forth from his pen than his first work, The Selfish Gene. Even a cursory glance through the negative reviews here will serve as a testament to the power of its ideas: this book forces us to rethink so many of our fundamental assumptions about life, the universe, and everything (rest in peace, Douglas Adams!). Many people on here find the implications of the ideas on display here frightening, and perhaps even dangerous. This is to be expected: it provoked much wonderment and thought in me, a staunch atheist. I can't imagine how alien the world of the selfish gene must seem to the religious temperament. But I digress. Many of the positive reviews are VERY positive, and this is a cherished book for many people. My point here is, first, that the ideas introduced here are important, and, second, they're introduced very well. It would be impossible for me to do justice to the ideas contained in this book, and so I won't even bother. But the fundamental argument and worldview of this book is worth discussing briefly, if superficially. When this book was published in the late seventies, naive ideas about evolution, such as group selection theory, were wide-spread, and so a distorted image of what Darwinism really amounted to was continually encountered. Enter Richard Dawkins, who argued that our conventional understanding of life was upside-down: rather than thinking of evolution as groups of organisms or even individual organisms using genes to replicate themselves, perhaps genes were using individual organisms to replicate themselves. That is, Dawkins argued that the primary unit of selection was not the group, or even the individual, but the gene itself, in the long run. Genes are not the tools organisms use to make copies of themselves; rather, replicating molecules build increasingly efficient vehicles for delivering themselves through the generations in any given environment, and this process of increasing efficiency is called evolution. This ultimately reduces organisms from the main actors in the play of life to mere "survival machines" (Dawkins' term) being indirectly manipulated by their genes. It is obvious that this stabs at the core of the uneasiness and fright some people feel when they are engaging this work: according to Dawkins, we are robots, or puppets. Dawkins uses both metaphors in this work to describe organisms, but the one he really runs with is the metaphor of organisms as robots. Needless to say, people don't like being classified as "gigantic lumbering robots." For the religious, the objection is obvious: they believe humans to be animals with souls. But even many secularists have raised their eyebrows as the oft-quoted passages comparing organisms to robots. But, as Dawkins notes, robots are not necessarily the clumsy, mindless clods of old science-fiction shows, and if we are puppets, he says, we can at least understand our strings. Needless to say he goes out of his way to disassociate himself from genetic determinism or the establishing of any kind of morality: Dawkins is not here to preach, but to present a conceptual framework for understanding the mysteries of evolution. The central metaphor of the book, however, is that of the eponymous selfish gene. Of course, genes are microscopic molecules and thus can't be consciously selfish, but they act AS IF they were. So anthropomorphic language runs throughout the work. While Dawkins often introduces extended metaphors, he never lets them run wild and take over the work. In the case of the selfish gene, selfishness is defined in a purely behavioral manner, so there are no real problems introduced by this. The selfish gene exploits every available opportunity to replicate more efficiently and spread throughout the local gene pool. As said before, I'm not going to relay the various arguments in this book, but I do want to give potential readers a basic outline of this book, so that they understand that scope of the material discussed here: Chapters 1 - 3 discuss basic stuff in biology, from a certain theory about the origin of life (he intentionally uses different origin theories in each of his books, due to our lack of knowledge in that area) to basic discussions on cell biology and the function of DNA. Chapter 4 sets up selfish gene theory through a basic discussion of what 'behavior' is. Chapter 5 discusses animal aggression and its relationship to such concepts as dominance hierarchies and ESSs (Evolutionarily Stable Strategies, an application of game theory expanded upon in a later chapter). Chapter 6 explores how individual altruism (a strange observation in the cut-throat world of Darwinian ruthlessness) can be explained through gene selfishness. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss kin selection, with 8 focusing squarely on parent-offspring relations. Chapter 9 talks about sexual selection and exploitation. Chapter 10 focuses on reciprocal altruism. Chapter 11, the final chapter in the original edition, introduces the now famous ideas of cultural replicators, or memes. In the book's second edition in 1989 Dawkins tacked on two chapters to the end, which, I think, are also two of the best. Chapter 12 takes a closer look at game theory and how it relates to our understanding of evolution. And chapter 13 reproduces in abbreviated form the central argument of his second work, The Extended Phenotype, which argues that the effects of genes can ultimately be described as influencing things outside of the individual organism as well, if very indirectly (of course, as Dawkins points out, the genetic influence on the organism is itself indirect, if to a much lesser extent). I hope that this review might serve its purpose of giving undecided customers some hint as to the richness and breadth of scope in this work. I hope everyone reads this book. Now, it isn't perfect: Dawkins has edited almost nothing from this work, leaving it virtually untouched, so that what you read in the first eleven chapters in 2010 was all there in 1976 as well. What this inevitably means is that some of Dawkins' speculations have been shown to be false over time. Most of these errors were pointed out in the voluminous end-notes added in the second addition of the work (Dawkins never failed to point it out when he is wrong about something, which is something I can really respect-- here is a thinker with integrity), although some, such as the correct function of surplus DNA, were only discovered recently, so that they escaped mention in this book. It is fairly easy to get up-to-date on all this, and there are no shortage of people who love to point out where exactly Dawkins is wrong on something. So be sure to supplement this book with some minor research if you care about keeping your understanding current. Also, the chapter on memes is admittedly sketchy (although many see more value in the idea than I do), and some sections of this work, especially when he is discussion the origins of life, are contentious. Keep this in mind. But you'd be hard-pressed to find a more important and readable introduction to both Darwinism and selfish gene theory than this. This third edition of the work, released in 2006, doesn't really add anything to the central text, like the huge overhaul of the second edition, but it restores all previous introductions, forewords, and prefaces, and adds a new one for this 30th anniversary edition. Also included are extracts from reviews of the work. This is really like an Ultimate Edition of The Selfish Gene, and if you've never read before, I advise you to read it now. At worst, it'll give you some interesting ideas to chew on. At best, it'll give you a whole new perspective on life. Read it.

A great purchase and happy with the copy i received. Whether or not you agree with all his arguments, this book will challenge how you think about life and evolution. It is a great read to understand complex ideas in Evolutionary Biology.

Excellent book, great thought to the details and comparisons, perfect name for the book "selfish gene"refers to all living being.

The book is in good condition and has an elegant cover. I fully recommend it.

The book takes complex scientific ideas and makes them incredibly clear and engaging, using vivid examples that stick with you. It even introduced the concept of "memes" – ideas or cultural elements that spread from person to person, much like genes. While the title might make it seem like a bleak read, it actually offers profound insights without being overly deterministic. It helps us understand our fundamental biological drives while also acknowledging our capacity for higher thought and even altruism. If you're curious about the deep mechanisms of life and want a fresh, compelling view of evolution, this book is an absolute must-read. It's a classic that continues to challenge and inform new generations.

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