Abstract
“Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish.” (Dawkins, 2010) In the first chapter of his book, “The Selfish Gene”, Richard Dawkins sums up his entire perspective on human interaction in a single sentence. In short, species-specific altruism is most desirable for humanity. Yet, like the black-headed seagulls who prey on their neighbor’s young while the nurturing parents are away fishing, selfishness beats altruism within groups. So where does this leave us? Explain how one incentivize the growth of a concept whose fruit will not be harvestable until generations after the farmer’s death? Dawkins has a simple answer for this, they don’t. Evolution has, in essence, favored the selfish individuals who have “contaminated the purity of altruistic groups” despite group selection theory being thoroughly in tune with the moral and political ideals that most humans share and altruistic groups beating selfish groups.
Dawkins’ pessimistic view that us humans prioritize the passing along of our own genetic code over sacrifice for the greater good of the species instills a theme of common distrust and cynicism. In essence, why should one have faith in humanity when it is riddled with selfish narcissists? Yet, over time, Dawkins’s stubborn view is tweaked alongside technological advancement, increasing mathematical evidence for alternative models and social evolution. In this dissertation, his evolution will be categorized into three specific eras as supported by his initial 1976 publication of ‘The Selfish Gene’, his revision of some of the book’s main concepts in his 1982 ‘The Extended Phenotype’ and the bold additions to the 40th anniversary edition of ‘The Selfish Gene’. Through analysis of what will be coined “Dawkins 1.0”, “Dawkins 2.0” and “Dawkins 3.0”, this literary review will pinpoint how both the opinion of Richard Dawkins himself and the readers of his publications have evolved over time. In doing so, recognition of the pores of his metaphors, the reasoning for which such revision was necessary and the impact of such revision on our knowledge of species evolution will help justify its reputation as “The most inspiring science book of all time”. (The Royal Society Science Book Prize Poll, 2006)
Provisional Skeleton
Introduction
Who is Richard Dawkins?
The Evolution of The Theory of Evolution
‘The Selfish Gene’
Reactions To ‘The Selfish Gene’
‘The Extended Phenotype’
Reactions To ‘The Extended Phenotype’
40 Years After The Publication of ‘The Selfish Gene’
Summary
Conclusion
