Modern synthesis (20th century) a gene-centred view of evolution following Hamilton's concepts, disputing the idea of evolutionary progress, and attacking the then widespread theory of group selection. Williams argued that natural selection worked by changing the frequency of alleles, and could not work at the level of groups. Gene-centred evolution was popularised by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book "The Selfish Gene" and developed in his more technical writings. In 1975, E. O. Wilson published his controversial book "", the subtitle alluding to the modern synthesis as he attempted to bring the study of animal society into the evolutionary fold. This appeared radically new,
Gene-centered view of evolution for the evolution of social characteristics such as selfishness and altruism. The formulation of the central dogma of molecular biology was summarized by Maynard Smith: The rejection of the inheritance of acquired characters, combined with Ronald Fisher the statistician, giving the subject a mathematical footing, and showing how Mendelian genetics was compatible with natural selection in his 1930 book "The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection". J. B. S. Haldane, and Sewall Wright, paved the way to the formulation of the selfish-gene theory. For cases where environment can influence heredity, see epigenetics. The view of the gene as the unit of