The Selfish Gene Another criticism of the book is its treatment of morality, and more particularly altruism, as existing only as a form of selfishness: The philosopher Mary Midgley has suggested this position is a variant of Hobbes' explanation of altruism as enlightened self-interest, and that Dawkins goes a step further to suggest that our genetic programming can be overcome by what amounts to an extreme version of free will. Part of Mary Midgley's concern is that Richard Dawkins' account of "The Selfish Gene" serves as a moral and ideological justification for selfishness to be adopted by modern human societies as simply following
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