Book - The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

• Genes are self-replicating machines with the ultimate goal of surviving and reproducing
  • Strong genes survive and weak ones die
    • Strong genes created cells to protect themselves from each other
    • Eventually they created ever-more complex organisms (plants and animals) for protection, survival and reproduction
• A gene is a tiny part of the DNA (gene for blue eyes)
  • For each gene, each of us possesses the dominant one and the allele
• The DNA is made of 46 chromosomes and is present in each cell of our body
  • The DNA is like the MasterPlan of a Building, and our body is the building

The master plan is contained in every room (cell) of the building (body)

Why Selfishness Survives

• Group selection theory argues that groups that were more altruistic and better able to cooperate would survive over groups whose individuals were selfish and could not cooperate
  • That seems true, BUT, within those groups the more selfish people who deceived others into thinking they were altruistic would have a better chance of survival and reproduction (they would cheat on wives etc….)

The Same Things Happened Society Wide (Daniel Schmachtenberger)

Peaceful cultures ( [[ Jaininsm ]]) and memes got wiped out or didnt spread - [[ Propagative memes propagate more than true memes ]]

Created on: 2020-10-19 Topic (tags): [[ Evolution ]] Selfishness [[ Biology ]]