Previous
Richard Dawkins
A geologist who developed the theory of evolution in the 1800s after taking a five-year sea voyage around the world and publishing The Origin of Species. Darwin argues that the biodiversity of the natural world is explained by natural selection, meaning organisms that are better adapted to their natural environments survive to reproduce and pass on their traits, which explains how species change over time. This view became central to life sciences research in the 1940s. People who follow this view are considered “Darwinian.” Dawkins is highly inspired by Darwin’s theory, though he thinks it hasn’t been taken seriously enough in the scientific world. Dawkins expands on Darwin’s view, but reframes evolution as something that happens to genes, rather than species.
Charles Darwin Quotes in The Selfish Gene
The The Selfish Gene quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Darwin or refer to Charles Darwin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
I shall argue that the fundamental unit of selection, and therefore of self-interest, is not the species, nor the group, nor even, strictly, the individual. It is the gene, the unit of heredity.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2
Quotes
They are in you and in me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. They have come a long way, those replicators. Now they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Selfish Gene LitChart as a printable PDF.
Charles Darwin Quotes in The Selfish Gene
The The Selfish Gene quotes below are all either spoken by Charles Darwin or refer to Charles Darwin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
I shall argue that the fundamental unit of selection, and therefore of self-interest, is not the species, nor the group, nor even, strictly, the individual. It is the gene, the unit of heredity.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2
Quotes
They are in you and in me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. They have come a long way, those replicators. Now they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
