The Selfish Gene The Selfish Gene The Selfish Gene is a 1976 book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, in which the author builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's "Adaptation and Natural Selection" (1966). Dawkins uses the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the views focused on the organism and the group, popularising ideas developed during the 1960s by W. D. Hamilton and others. From the gene-centred view, it follows that the more two individuals are genetically related, the more sense (at the level of the genes) it makes for them
On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection Letter" from Darwin to Asa Gray. This was the first announcement of the Darwin – Wallace theory of evolution by natural selection; the papers appeared in print on 20 August 1858. The presentation of the papers spurred Darwin to write a condensed "abstract" of his "big book" on "Natural Selection". This was published in November 1859 as "On the Origin of Species". On the voyage of the "Beagle" the young Charles Darwin took a break between graduating and starting his career as a clergyman to study the natural history of South America, an interest he had developed at the University