Viruses of the Mind Viruses of the Mind "Viruses of the Mind" is an essay by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, first published in the book "Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind" (1993). Dawkins originally wrote the essay in 1991 and delivered it as a Voltaire Lecture on 6 November 1992 at the Conway Hall Humanist Centre. The essay discusses how religion can be viewed as a meme, an idea previously expressed by Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene" (1976). Dawkins analyzes the propagation of religious ideas and behaviors as a memetic virus, analogous to how biological and computer viruses spread. The essay was later
The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection Charles Darwin, "In gratitude for the encouragement, given to the author, during the last fifteen years, by discussing many of the problems dealt with in this book." The book was reviewed by Charles Galton Darwin, who sent Fisher his copy of the book, with notes in the margin, starting a correspondence which lasted several years. The book also had a major influence on W. D. Hamilton's theories on the genetic basis of kin selection. John Henry Bennett gave an account of the writing and reception of the book. Sewall Wright, who had many disagreements with Fisher, reviewed the book and