The Selfish Gene: 40Th Anniversary Enhanced Edition

"I will go against my nature, disobey my instinct, and love you forever." "The living organism is a survival machine created by genes. Life is short, but genes are immortal." Based on the progress of biological research and his own understanding, Dawkins determined the unit or level of biological evolution in genes, and through the use of ethical language, explained that the basic characteristic of genes is "selfishness." Dawkins believes that genes will do whatever it takes to achieve their survival goals. But precisely because genes control this behavior, they can replicate themselves through the altruistic behavior of animals caring for their offspring, allowing them to survive.

This book "The Selfish Gene" starts from the internalized genes to understand the hidden meanings of some people and animals' superficial behaviors. It is a popular science book that is very meaningful to read. Personally, I feel a bit boring and even impatient at times because there are too many words and I can't make sense of it. It is especially recommended to use an AI like deepseek to assist reading. This is how I read it. It is very useful. Let the AI ​​summarize the core content of each chapter. If you are interested, you can read it together with the original text. That's it, recommended! ! Although genes are selfish, selfishness is just a tendency, but our unique human beings can overcome them through cultural and educational environment, and can resist the "tyranny" of genes. I think it brings us a lot of hope. Each of us is not powerless and can dominate our own lives through memes! ! !

Although the evolutionary history of chimpanzees and humans is about 99.5% The same, most human thinkers still regard chimpanzees as deformed monsters that have nothing to do with humans, and humans themselves as the ladder to Almighty God. For an evolutionist, this is never the case. There is no objective basis for believing that one species is superior to another. Whether it's chimpanzees and humans, or lizards and fungi, they all evolved through a process of so-called natural selection that lasted about 3 billion years. Within each species, some individuals leave more surviving offspring than others, so the heritable traits (genes) of those lucky enough to reproduce become more numerous in the next generation.

From the perspective of evolutionary biology, the author discusses the role of genes in biological evolution, emphasizing the selfishness of individual genes and the importance of genetic transmission. This book had a profound impact on the study of evolutionary biology, genetics, and biological sciences, sparking widespread discussion and controversy. It is also considered one of the important classics in understanding biological evolution and gene transmission, and has profoundly affected people's understanding of life and inheritance. If you are interested in human characteristics, biology, and genetics, then I recommend you to read this book in detail.

I read it for a month and finally finished it. It makes sense for high school biology textbooks to recommend this book, because one of the characteristics of high school biology is that regardless of "special cases", there are many strange things in nature, and those are not problems that high school biology classes can solve. This book, on the contrary, talks about various aspects of the role of the theory of evolution. What seems reasonable and unreasonable is actually within the scope of the theory of evolution. The book is a bit difficult and requires a lot of thinking, but it was really enjoyable after reading it! In addition to the theory of evolution, it can be seen that Dawkins is a very forward-looking person. This book was written nearly 50 years ago, but it contains a lot of ideas about computers, robots, and artificial intelligence that are still up to date. From my personal point of view, it takes a lot of experience to understand the metaphors he used. My favorite chapter is the chapter on memes, which directly generalizes the theory of evolution. The success of the generalization in turn proves the scientific nature of his evolutionary theory. And this chapter is also very inspiring for life. In addition to passing genes, we also have the option of passing memes, which adds another dimension to the discussion of "the meaning of life." I saw someone talking about the translation problem, but there is nothing I can do about it. This kind of book is very professional in nature, and it would be great if it can be faithful and expressive. I think this translation is really good

There is a selfish heart hidden in everyone's heart. The book written by British biologist Richard Dawkins proposed the "selfish gene" theory, that is, genes are the smallest unit of biological evolution. They achieve their own reproduction by controlling the genetic information of individuals, rather than for the benefit of the individual or the population. The book explores areas such as biological evolution and genetic inheritance, and provides an in-depth explanation of concepts such as natural selection, kin selection, and social behavior. It explains complex scientific issues and ideas in concise and easy-to-understand language, triggering extensive academic and social discussions.

A shell carrying genes is giving a book report After struggling to read the 40th Anniversary Edition of "The Selfish Gene" which has a mediocre translation, I still gained a lot. Dawkins chose the word "selfish" to subvert the old "group selection theory" and emphasize that genes are the basic unit of natural selection. In other words, (well, the original text also has a name) "selfishness" here has nothing to do with morality, but the cold survival law of genes, which is to increase the probability of their own existence in the future gene pool at all costs. Organisms are nothing but "survival machines" built by genes. This kind of "selfishness" at the genetic level drives all life: salmon die after spawning, which is a strategy for genes to clear out old carriers and free up resources for future generations. Cuckoo chicks push the host bird's eggs out of the nest, which is an extreme manifestation of eliminating competitors and monopolizing resources. Worker ants sacrifice for their sisters? The essence is to help pass on shared copies of genes. Reciprocal behavior is also based on a "calculation" of rewards. Parents control their offspring to leave the nest, offspring compete for more resources, and the different reproductive strategies between the sexes are all battlefields where genetic interests conflict. And the one with a bit of a philosophical flavor is meme (although this one is translated as meme:). Dawkins predicted that cultural information units (such as concepts, melodies, and trends), like genes, also follow the "selfish" law of replication and compete for human "attention resources." Religious teachings can make people give up reproduction (which sacrifices genetic interests), just to spread themselves. The Internet era has nakedly confirmed this point. Algorithms push highly stimulating content (that is, "selfish" memes that are easy to spread), and in-depth information is eliminated; political ideologies act as meme complexes to launch traffic wars. Human beings have become the dual carriers of genes and memes, and are often caught in a tug-of-war between the two. The grand script of life evolution is written by "selfish" genes. It not only creates the tragedy of salmon and the cruelty of cuckoo, but also spawns cooperation and seemingly altruistic behavior. The rise of memes has allowed us to add cultural "shackles" to the "tyranny" of genes. After understanding the grand goal of "genetic immortality", think about the unpalatable meal I had for lunch today. Are these thoughts themselves just genetic or meme-driven programs? What's the point? In any case, after the report was written, the shell was already thinking like "go to the dock to order French fries" under the control of the meme. The translation of this version is average. Unfortunately, the previous paper copy was borrowed.

The author says that we are born selfish, but I think we also have a kind and cooperative side. Moreover, the "meme" mentioned in the book is also very interesting. It turns out that culture can also evolve like genes. Although some of the content was a bit difficult to understand, I still learned a lot. I think this book can help us understand ourselves and the world better.

Dawkins pointed out that the basic unit of evolution is the gene. Individuals have a limited lifespan, and species may become extinct. However, genes can be continued in different individuals through reproduction, and may also be spread among different species. For example, some ancient genes exist in a variety of modern organisms. Individuals are genetic survival machines. The basic unit of evolution is the gene. From a genetic perspective, altruistic behavior in the biological world is also for the benefit of genes. Gene strategies and natural selection ~ Genes respond to environmental challenges through constant mutation and recombination, producing cooperation, competition, deception and other strategies to ensure their dominant position in evolution. Natural selection acts on genes, and strategies that allow genes to replicate and spread better will be retained and passed on. Dawkins proposed the concept of "memes" as an analogy to the role of genes in cultural transmission. Meme is the basic unit of cultural communication, such as thoughts, concepts, buzzwords, religious beliefs, etc. It has the same characteristics of self-replication and propagation as genes. It can be passed between human brains and spread through imitation, learning and other methods. The fundamental "purpose" of genes is to copy themselves as much as possible and pass them on to the next generation. This is the "selfishness" of genes. For example, during the breeding season, salmon will migrate to their birthplace to spawn regardless of difficulties and obstacles. After completing their reproductive mission, they will die of exhaustion. From a genetic perspective, the body of a salmon is just a carrier of genes. Genes drive salmon to complete reproductive behaviors to pass on themselves. From a genetic perspective, altruistic behavior in the biological world is also for the benefit of genes. Biological individuals are "survival machines" created by genes. Their behaviors and characteristics are determined by genes, with the purpose of helping genes gain an advantage in the competition for survival. For example, a peacock's colorful tail will increase the risk of predation and energy consumption, but it can attract females and give genes that control tail characteristics more opportunities to pass on. Selfish behavior directly transmits genes through individual survival, while altruistic behavior indirectly transmits genes through the success of relatives or collaborators. Both are essentially different strategies for genetic continuation, rather than "selfishness" or "selflessness" on a moral level. From a genetic perspective, altruistic behavior in the biological world is also for the benefit of genes. For example, bees sacrifice themselves to protect the hive. Because bees are closely related and share many of the same genes, the sacrifice of one bee helps other bees with the same genes survive and reproduce, thus allowing these genes to continue.

The author takes genes as the main point of view and looks at different lives in the world, that is, different carriers of genes. The core point is not selfish genes as the title suggests, but biased towards selfless genes or eternal genes. When genes and their carriers adapt to the living environment, the number of genes and their carriers will increase, and vice versa. However, it should be noted that the survival of genes is not necessarily related to the survival of gene carriers. Longevity genes may exist in multiple gene carriers. As long as some carriers are still alive, the demise of a single population and individual (i. E., Gene carrier) will have little impact on genes. If you want to know more, you can read this book [top post]

Calling people to make small sacrifices in peacetime and slowing down their progress in improving their living standards seems less effective than calling them to sacrifice their lives in wartime.

It sounds like you have finished reading the e-book. Some parts may be a little difficult to understand.

Some of the author's views are quite interesting (by the way, do you all read it so quickly [currently working on the manuscript])

I watched it a little too fast and briefly watched it for 5 hours; [face covering]

As you read more and more, there will be fewer and fewer novel and mind-expanding books. This is really a good book.

Clear organization and accurate expression!

The true self is the person who understands genes, knows memes, knows himself, identifies instincts and various thoughts of his own or others, and can make choices among them.

After reading it you will understand the nature of life

Nuanced and multi-angle explanations describe the little-known characteristics and essence of genes.

It tells a lot about the laws of racial reproduction in the insect world and nature, and gives us many inspirations for human society to adapt to survival.