Key Terms in Evolutionary Biology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality: Selfish gene

= The Selfish Gene =

Definition
The Selfish Gene theory, first introduced by Richard Dawkins in “The Selfish Gene” is a simplified, gene-centered view of evolutionary biology. While many approaches to evolutionary biology have surfaced over the years, the selfish gene theory emphasizes natural selection at the lowest possible level of its occurrence: the genes, rather than individuals or species (Dawkins, 1976). In “The Selfish Gene,” genes are characterized almost as if they have a will of their own to replicate themselves, at all costs to their host organisms. Though Dawkins addresses that genes, indeed, cannot possess such a will of their own, he refers to them as if that were the case. A key element of the Selfish Gene theory is the idea that genes are the replicators, while organisms are merely their means by which to replicate. Dawkins portrays organisms as mindless machines, whose every move is calculated by its genes’ “will” to reproduce (Dawkins, 1976).

Example(s) of use in context
The idea of the Selfish Gene has been illustrated in many aspects of evolutionary biology:

In The Caveman Mysitque, Martha McCaughey mentions George Williams' Adaptation and Natural Selection, in which he argues that adaptations are individual, rather than group adaptations. Williams even ties in the idea of altruism (concern for the well-being of others) with this theory; "if being a good friend maximizes an individual's evolutionary advantage, then animals and humans are not as purely altruistic as earlier scholars asserted (Williams, 1996)." Williams makes the argument that altruism is never truly altruism, only another means by which to ensure the fitness of one's own genes.

McCaughey also provides quite an intriguing quotation from The Selfish Gene (pg. 51):

"It does not grow senile; it is no more likely to die when it is a million years old than when it is only a hundred. It leaps from body to body down the generations, manipulating body after body in its own way and for its own ends, abandoning a succession of mortal bodies before hey sink in senility and death. The genes are the immortals...(McCaughey, 2008)."

Thus, Dawkins conveys a powerful image of genes, and illustrates his theory that organisms are simply a means by which genes survive; upon the creation of offspring, genes simply "leap" to the next organism, and so on.

An example of the Selfish Gene Theory can also be summarized on pg. 153 of The Evolution of Desire:

"The picture is not a very pretty one, but humans were not designed by natural selection to coexist in niceness and matrimonial bliss. They were designed for an individual survival and genetic reproduction. The psychological mechanisms fashioned by these ruthless criteria are often selfish ones (Buss,1994)."

Scientific background
The Selfish Gene theory was formed, in laymen terms, on the following basis: genes strive to replicate themselves, as if almost consciously, as mentioned above. Organisms do not survive from one generation to the next, while genes do. Natural selection, therefore, acts on what survives: the genes. Thus, all natural selection acts at the level of DNA, resulting in a greatly simplified outlook on evolution (Grafen, 2006).

History
Dawkins’ book was considered to have built upon the ideas laid out in George Williams’ Adaptation and Natural Selection, which was known for criticizing various group selection theories, while introducing the idea of a gene-centered view of evolutionary biology. While Williams’ book is the most well known inspiration behind the ideas expressed in Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, the works of W.D. Hamilton and John Maynard Smith contributed to the development of the original idea of the Selfish Gene in the 1960’s (Grafen, 2006).

Debates
Not surprisingly, a set of ideas as controversial as those presented in The Selfish Gene certainly didn’t go un-noticed throughout the world of science. A series of criticisms and debates occurred throughout the scientific community after the publishing of The Selfish Gene. Ernst Mayr, a prominent critic of Dawkins, referred to his evolutionary theory of the selfish gene as “totally non-Darwinian.” Anthropologist David Sloan Wilson has been quoted as saying, “when it comes to a semantic conclusion, you can’t beat Richard Dawkins (Grafen, 2006)."

Perhaps Dawkins’ most critical opponent is well-known paleontologist, Jay Gould. While referring to himself as an evolutionary pluralist (Gould was known to favor the complexity of large systems as opposed to Dawkins’ simplified view of evolution), Gould viewed Dawkins as a “hyper-Darwinist.” A popular argument against the Selfish Gene Theory, in fact, was the viewpoint that it oversimplified the relationship between the organism and its genes (Grafen, 2006).

Since the Selfish Gene theory emerged, and was explained by Dawkins’ book in 1976, there have been a significant amount of discoveries that have gradually practically disproven, or made less likely, the Selfish Gene theory. For example, scientists have since formed a much more complex picture of the gene, as opposed to the simple and theoretical entity Dawkins believed it to be: “It is a fair point that the gene is an abstraction…What I’ve said in The Selfish Gene is that I agree that we’re not talking about a particular unit. There’s a continuum.” –Richard Dawkins (Grafen, 2006).

Author
Nora D. Burke