The Selfish Gene

Science

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins

We have found the secret of life- blurted Francis Crick in a bar soon after he and Watson first discovered that they had correctly deciphered the structure of DNA. That Genes are the storehouse of all information which is required to produce and then nurture the body that contains them, be it a single celled bacterium, a hundred feet oak tree or the most complex machine, the human being with a mind that contemplates on its own origin, is a fact known to most. And from this it seems logical to infer that genes fulfil a vital function of the body lodging them. In his first book The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins sets out to dispel this erroneous belief. Genes are not for bodies, but bodies are for Genes. This is the central theme of the book. The Selfish Gene theory of nature is Richard Dawkins’ theory of Genecentric world. He argues that Darwinian evolution does not work at the level of species or groups of living beings, but at the individual level, at the level of its genes. All bodies containing genes, plants, animals, bacteria, fungi are just the survival machines for the genes that they contain. The genes that have survived millions of years of cutthroat competition could not have done so without being selfish and this gene selfishness gives rise to selfishness in the body that they inhabit. Book, regarded as iconic in the biological thought, was a sensation in nineteen-seventies. It was a best-seller too. Dawkins convincingly argues that most facets of animal behaviour can be explained by this selfish gene theory. He briefly explains how genes may have originated on earth and how they may have come to acquire a body. He builds up his arguments cohesively, first explaining why and how DNA is the building block of the blind process of evolution through natural selection and then goes on to explain some basic behaviour of living beings like aggression, altruism, kin selection, conflict between the sexes and reciprocal altruism in the light of his selfish Gene theory. Though most of these topics are new for a lay reader, Dawkins sustains the interest of the reader through his lucid explanations, his choice of common metaphors to explain difficult scientific concepts and his completely non-technical language.

            Chapter on Memes (a terminology coined by Dawkins), the cultural replicators that Dawkins believes may rival genes in their capacity to function as the new cog in the chain of evolution seems speculative. A new chapter in later editions on a gambling game called ‘Prisoners’ Dilemma’ to explain animal behaviour, reverse altruism, is long winded and could have been shortened.

            Book was written when Dawkins was young and his zeal for the concepts he presents, his unstinted faith in the validity of the revolutionary ideas that he unleashed, is apparent in the lively and animated prose. In the thirtieth anniversary edition he did not change the main text, but added endnotes which narrate various controversies that arose from the first edition, his explanations on these and also many instances where in the intervening years he was proven wrong in his earlier assertions and conclusions.

            In the last chapter ‘The long reach of the Gene’ he talks on the ‘tension between gene and individual as fundamental agent of life’. I skipped this chapter as Dawkins fervently pleads with the reader to switch to his second book ‘The Extended Phenotype’ for a detailed discussion on this controversy and I intend to do exactly as he advices.

            A word on the title of the book. Dawkins was much criticised and quite severely by some, who had either not read a word beyond its title or had not understood most of it. They equated selfish-gene to a gene coding for selfishness in human beings, like a gene for blue eyes, for height, etc. Thus, in their eyes, Dawkins was guilty of justifying selfishness behind the garb of Genetic truth. Nothing is further from the theme of the book. Genes are selfish only as far as they are working towards leaving behind maximum copies of themselves in the environment they have evolved. In the process these genes have given rise to the empathetic, generous, loving, affectionate and caring human beings.

            Book demands application of intellect, but author takes the reader along in this difficult journey with utmost care. Book is a supremely rewarding read.