The Selfish GeneThe million copy international bestseller, critically acclaimed and translated into over 25 languages. As influential today as when it was first published, The Selfish Gene has become a classic exposition of evolutionary thought. Professor Dawkins articulates a gene's eye view of evolution - a view giving centre stage to these persistent units of information, and in which organisms can be seen as vehicles for their replication. This imaginative, powerful, and stylistically brilliant work not only brought the insights of Neo-Darwinism to a wide audience, but galvanized the biology community, generating much debate and stimulating whole new areas of research. Forty years later, its insights remain as relevant today as on the day it was published. This 40th anniversary edition includes a new epilogue from the author discussing the continuing relevance of these ideas in evolutionary biology today, as well as the original prefaces and foreword, and extracts from early reviews. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think. |
Contents
1 WHY ARE PEOPLE? | 1 |
2 THE REPLICATORS | 15 |
3 IMMORTAL COILS | 26 |
4 THE GENE MACHINE | 59 |
5 AGGRESSION | 86 |
6 GENESMANSHIP | 114 |
7 FAMILY PLANNING | 141 |
8 BATTLE OF THE GENERATIONS | 159 |
11 MEMES | 245 |
12 NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST | 261 |
13 THE LONG REACH OF THE GENE | 302 |
EPILOGUE TO 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION | 345 |
ENDNOTES | 359 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 435 |
| 447 | |
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS | 457 |
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Common terms and phrases
actually altruism animals average baby become behaviour benefit better birds body brothers called cells chance chapter cheats child chromosome close cooperate copies cost cuckoo defect effect eggs equal evolution evolutionary evolve example expect fact favour female fight future gene pool genetic give happen hawk human idea important individual influence instance interesting investment kind least less living look males mate matter means meme molecules mother natural selection nest organism original parasites parents particular perhaps play population possible probably reason replicators reproduction rival rule seems selfish gene sense sexual sexual reproduction share simply single social species stable strategy successful suppose survival machines tend theory things tion Tit for Tat true turn unit whole workers young