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
The Selfish Genius entitled the "Dawkins Dogma" contains parts of the arguments put forward within the book. "The Selfish Genius" has been criticized in "The Economist" for failing to fully understand Dawkins' selfish gene metaphor, with the reviewer claiming Dawkins accommodates proposed alternative evolutionary mechanism Elsdon-Baker suggests within her own ideas. However a generally positive reception has been seen amongst proponents of group selection and Philip Ball wrote a largely positive review in "The Times" that acknowledges she is right to "call time on a Whiggish view of the history of evolution". "Popular Science" author Brian Clegg reviewed the book and described it