The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Published in 1976, The Selfish Gene revolutionized the way scientists and laypeople alike think about evolution, natural selection, and the mechanisms of life itself. Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford University, presents a bold and compelling thesis: it is not the organism, but the gene, that drives the process of evolution. In doing so, he shifts the lens of biology from the survival of species to the replication and endurance of genetic material. Dawkins proposes that genes act "selfishly," meaning they behave in ways that maximize their own chances of survival and replication. This concept reframes altruism—not as selfless behavior among organisms, but as a genetic strategy aimed at preserving one's own genetic lineage. For instance, animals may exhibit apparently altruistic behavior toward close kin because doing so indirectly enhances their own genetic success.