The Selfish Gene

Rating:
Summary: Scientific Story about the Masters of the Art of Survival
Review: +++++

This book, by Richard Dawkins (who is an ethologist, a person who studies animal behavior), "should be read almost as if it were science fiction...But it is not science fiction: it is science."

The book itself is about replicators. About four thousand million years ago these molecules had the power to make copies of themselves. Did these ancient replicators die out? NO! Why? Because they are masters of the art of survival.

Where are these replicators now? Answer: they are in all plants and animals including humans. These replicators now go by the name of genes, and we are their "survival machines" or gene machines. That is, "robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."

As you read through this easy-to-understand book, you will discover that the world of the gene machine is one of competition, exploitation, and even deceit. This is not only seen in aggression between rivals (which has its own chapter) but also in the more subtle battles between the generations and between the sexes (both of which have their own chapters).

But what about the numerous examples of apparent altruism found throughout nature? Dawkins shows that they all result from the selfishness of genes. In fact, Dawkins states that the purpose of his book "is to examine the biology of selfishness and altruism."

The last three chapters are especially interesting. Chapter eleven on "the new replicators" that Dawkins calls "memes" gives a startling way of looking at ourselves, and our unique culture. Chapter twelve summarizes the results of computer simulations of different survival strategies. Chapter thirteen is a summary of the book "The Extended Phenotype" (that Dawkins considers his best book).

Are we slaves to the whims of our genes? NO! Dawkins explains early on:

"My own feeling is that a human society based simply on the gene's law of universal ruthless selfishness would be a very nasty society in which to live...Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something which no other species has ever aspired to do."

This book reads like a thriller and is definitely not a dry academic exercise. It is packed with fascinating true stories from the animal (including human) and the insect world to illuminate the various themes that run throughout the book. Technical jargon is avoided and where specialized words are used, they are defined. The author states that this book will appeal to the following people: general reader, student, and expert.

This book is dated in a few areas with regard to analogies because it was written long ago. Even so, this book remains a bestseller because it has withstood the test of time.

I have a few suggestions to make this book easier to read:

First, its true that Dawkins defines technical terms when he first presents them. However, if these same terms appear later in the book he does not define them expecting the reader either to remember their accurate definitions or else to go back to the chapter where they were first defined. I feel a glossary would have been handy in case the reader forgets to remember an important definition.

Next, this book is very wordy because there are no illustrations. I feel simple diagrams would have helped convey key ideas effectively and reduced this book's wordiness.

Lastly, each chapter is written as one long narrative. It would have helped to divide each chapter into sections with titles thus allowing the reader to more easily follow the discussion.

Finally, if you enjoy this book, then I recommend reading Dawkins other book mentioned above called "The Extended Phenotype," a continuation of this book. As well, be sure to read his controversial (to some) book "The Blind Watchmaker," a book on evolution.

In conclusion, this book introduces the reader to the ultimate survival specialists. Be sure to read this book to discover for yourself why this book is a million copy bestseller and why it has been translated into more than twenty languages!!

(published 1990; forward; preface; 13 chapters; first eleven chapters first published 1976; last two chapters first published 1989; main narrative of 265 pages; bibliography; index)

+++++


Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I just got finished reading this book, and I must say that it is absolutely amazing! It took me a while to get through all the details, but it was well worth the effort! Dawkins's use of stories and examples throughout The Selfish Gene really drove his theory home for me. It also made the book an enjoyable read.

The insight and research that went into The Selfish Gene is really astounding. I think the quote on the cover from the New York Times says it best: "the sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius." Dawkins is an amazing author and scientist who has been able to condense a lifetime of work into a relatively short book that any layperson can understand.

If you are undecided about evolution, there are plenty of books out there, like Dawkins's latest work, that address this issue. The Selfish Gene was written for readers who have already decided that evolution is a well founded and scientifically supported theory. If you don't fit that description, then you probably won't get much out of this book.

The Selfish Gene is about evolution, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. This book shows how we, as humans, interact with one another and what drives us in our day-to-day lives. The scope of The Selfish Gene really is incredible. Dawkins has been able to take a basic idea and apply it to every aspect of our existence and the existence of every living thing on earth.

Rating:
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: This is an excellent book, thought provoking, lucidly written and full of ideas that seem fresh and new even three decades after first publication. Richard Dawkins is a preeminent writer on science and this was the first of his impressive, award-winning books on various scientific and philosophical subjects. Here and there, the book, which covers evolution, heredity, man's place among living creatures and many other subjects as well, shows its age. For example, Dawkins refers to transistors in his discussion of computers, wonders whether a computer will ever be able to win a chess match against a grand master and seems to think that understanding the gene sequence is an almost impossibly distant dream. But the book's underlying logic and its big ideas have nothing antiquated or obsolete about them. We highly recommend it to the intellectually curious.

Rating:
Summary: Self-reproduction is a basic trait of nature at every scale
Review: Richard Dawkins considers the evolution at gene level and comes with stunning conclusions. We are made to serve the self-reproduction of our genes. There are puzzling examples of altruism which do not seamlessly fit in this picture of evolution.

If you read Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction you'll see that the discovered 3D-spiral code of reality self-reproduces like a living thing. This revealed universal behavior is similar to the self-reproduction of the DNA, which is the code of life. In this way the all-building interaction (matter) expands from its source and states its existence. The source can be everything including the "selfish gene" that Richard Dawkins has discovered.

The enigmatic altruism is just interaction scale changing that keeps the universal unfolding go at the scales of the considered species. For example the bees remain save in their hive after some suicide by planting stings into the intruders. It is amazing to see quite different objects, e.g. genes, bees or humans, all governed by the universal interaction unfolding that works at individual and social scales. Savov's theory of interaction shows that we are made to unfold the interaction packed in the atoms that build us. It is also shown that every body self-reproduces at its scales and at smaller ones. This universal self-reproduction creates the finite sources of reality. Therefore at gene level Richard Dawkins is right. We are governed to reproduce our genes. The theory of interaction clearly shows that at a much deeper level the sources of reality self-reproduce to unfold into what we find in this universe.


Rating:
Summary: Interesting even when wrong
Review: A thought provoking book, very well written, it does a great job of presenting some basic but interesting ideas in biology, genetics and game theory to the non-specialist. Let me put this straight: this is not a book about finding a gene that is responsible for selfishness or "inhumanity" (that's already been done, just take Bush DNA in stock, and remember to take away the idiocy gene;) it is not a book about moral philosophy, it is not a book against religion and it won't make you feel better if you are an egoistic as*#*le. It is just a lively written exposition of the workings of evolution and the subtle interactions that living creatures have among themselves. The focus of the book is on shifting the idea of evolution from species evolution and individual animal evolution to gene evolution. To be true, at the elementary level the game of survival, mutation and evolution is played by the genes and not the organisms, and this is a very important and interesting idea to behold. Sometimes Dawkins gets a bit carried away by his "communicative genius" calling animal bodies "lumbering robots built by the genes" but at least he manages to catch the reader attention vey effectively. I personally don't understand his sectarian hostility towars group selection. To me, species, group, individual, kin and gene selection are all valid, they just tend to be the dominant force in different time/space domains. The only downside of the book is the smell of the petty disputes of the "specialists" in the field, which seemed to be quarreling more on words and way of seeing things than on real, sound, genuine ideas. This is the unmistakable sign of a stagnant field. I think that what makes some religious people snarl at this book is not its main idea (evolution is played at he gene level, and genes that are around today must have done well in diffusing at the expenses of others) but the very natural explanation it gives of selfishness and altruism (they help a single gene or a pool of similar or identical genes to survive and spread), something that religious people see as too "God-related" to be subject to biological explanations... Overall a a great book that will spark your interest in biology, genetics, ethology, sociobiology and even apparently unrelated fields like game theory.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Way to Learn Economics!
Review: Evolutionary biology is peppered with economics and sociology in Richard Dawkins eloquently written 1976 classic The Selfish Gene. The focus of the book is that replicators, namely the gene, evolve with a anthropomorphically "selfish" attitude. Dawkins presents his theory that the gene and not the species is the prime "actor" in evolution. The important focus is not the good of the species or group, but the good of the gene. Through this lens Dawkins discusses the variety of applications and objections, tying most of his loose ends with ease. The book is sprinkled with many examples taken from the world of plants, animals, and sometimes humans. This allows the reader to better conceptualize the theory that is offered. Surprisingly, the chapter this book is possibly best known for, the one discussing memes, is also one of the shortest. Dawkins work is a fascinating exposition of evolutionary biology for the layman.

The most valuable characteristic of this book is it's ability to teach economics. Every chapter is implicitly a discussion of the dynamic market process. The selfish interest of the gene is easily analogized to the self-interest actors in the market economy. Several chapters even deal explicitly with game theory and the Prisoner's dilemma. In addition to a greater understanding of evolutionary biology, this book provides a clearer appreciation for many economic ideas.

Dawkins errors a few times. Writing before the incredible technology advances of the last two decades, he feels that:

"The workings of the sensory systems are particularly baffling, because they can achieve far more sophisticated feats of pattern-recognition than the best and most expensive man-made machines; if this were not so, all typists would be redundant, superseded by speech-recognizing machines, or machines for reading handwriting. Human typists will be needed for many decades yet."

I will grant him that computers do not yet equally rival all of the abilities of the human body, but he clearly underestimates the ability for advances in productivity and technology that have taken place. In another part of the book he says "Increases in food production may temporarily alleviate the problem [famine], but it is mathematically certain that they cannot be a long-term solution". This reeks of a Malthusian mind set. Advances in productivity in the agricultural sector have made food production skyrocket. With the pricing mechanism and a friendlier view of Capitalism, starvation and famine have not become the doomsday that they are so often touted to be.

Dawkins redeems himself later on when discussing the welfare state:

"What has happened in modern civilized man is that family sizes are no longer limited by the finite resources that the individual parents can provide. If a husband and wife have more children than they can feed, the state...simply steps in and keeps the surplus children alive and healthy".

Dawkins correctly notes that when costs are not accounted for with particular actions, they will be engaged in too much. Looking just at this aspect, one can expect there will be an overproduction of people. This is just one example of where Dawkins offers an economically sound argument with out explicitly admitting so.

The chapter on Memes was interesting, but left me unsatisfied. Memes, the equivalent to genes, are basically culture. This includes popular music and commercial jingles, "fashions in dress and diet, ceremonies and customs, art and architecture, engineering and technology". Dawkins suggests that a contribution of memes will last longer than genes. Further, he notes that memes are not solely unique to man, but are most pronounced here. I would have liked to hear a lengthier discussion of the transmission mechanisms of memes. Dawkins was unclear and brief on why and how man has developed memes. This strikes me as an area of substantial application from business to economics to politics, and I would have enjoyed a more rigorous and thorough discussion.

According to one economics professor of mine, "The Selfish Gene should be read by anyone who wants to be an intellectual." While I can't comment on the necessities of the intellectual life, I can say that this book is one of the rare gems that combines a difficult subject matter and an entertaining and easily understood style to become a top rate read. I recommend it highly to anyone studying economics or with an idle curiosity.



Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, thought-provoking and scientifically sound.
Review: A totally coherent and logical exposition, written in a beautifully clear and readable style. Personally I would recommend first reading his "Climbing Mount Improbable" which is the perfect entry point for the layman, and filled with the most delightful examples from the natural world to illustrate each idea presented.

The lengths Dawkins goes to, in this book, specifically to avoid misunderstanding are amazing! Yet people still wilfully (if not maliciously) misuse some of the content. He states over and over again that he is talking about genes being disinterested parties in their own propagation - ie., if they are useful, they are reproduced in the next generation. If they are not successful/useful, they tend not to be passed on. He also talks about us rising above our genes. We do not have to be selfish - we can be ethical and 'good' - we are not pre-determined by our genetic make-up.

Dawkins' writings changed my life; from a credulous believer in Bronze-age myths about people walking on water (ie Christianity) to a student of Truth; hungry for reality and the real wonders of science.