The Selfish Gene "On the Origin of Species" and Isaac Newton’s "Principia Mathematica". 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
On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection Darwin apparently mistook Wallace's meaning, writing "nothing very new... Uses my simile of tree, [but] it seems all creation with him". However, he spelt out the details of Natural Selection to Lyell, who found the idea hard to accept but urged Darwin to publish to establish priority. On 14 May 1856 Darwin began what became his draft for a book titled "Natural Selection". Wallace collected specimens and corresponded with Darwin from Borneo. In December 1857, he wrote to ask if Darwin's book would delve into human origins, to which Darwin responded that "I think I shall avoid the whole subject,