Humans have been studied over a period of long time in order to understand our process to do things and what thoughts go into that process. Human nature varies and is unpredictable, it has been studied for so long over the past few centuries that one thing is for certain; the building blocks of it is essentially the same to every human being. One of the fundamentals of human nature is the selfish gene and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins “show how both individual selfishness and individual altruism are explained by the fundamental law that I am calling gene selfishness” (Dawkins 6). For those who want to understand Dawkins’ theory about the selfish gene, one must be somewhat accustomed with Charles Darwin and his ideas about evolution, which should not be hard because it has been taught to us since middle school. Darwin’s theory of evolution is the fundamental blocks of Dawkins’ idea on the selfish gene. It’s a safe assumption to say that Darwin would have understood Dawkins’ theory and have agreed with it based on the fact that it is essentially Darwin’s theory. Dawkins intended for the book to be read by three groups of people describing them as, “the layman, the expert and the student,” (Dawkins xxi). He wanted to entice them to understand that while there are two ways to look at natural selection, gene and individual, he was going to concentrate on social behavior. In order to do that he has broken down the book into eight main parts that consists of: the concepts of altruistic and selfish behavior, genetic definition of self-interest, deceit, sex ratio theory, evolution of aggressive behavior, kinship theory, reciprocal altruism, and natural selection of sex differences. With the usage of analogies an... ... middle of paper ... ...xception to that; he was able to write a science book that I was able to learn everything he was trying teach. The Selfish Gene was such an intellectual and quirky book that consisted of all the things need to produce the outcome of readers who were taking in all the information that they have learned and were able to make sense of what was being told. The boundaries set by our society has hinder human nature which is thought by many to be animalistic and dark implicating that a powerful motivating factor of human nature is to seek gratification and evade misery. Therefore without all the boundaries and rules that society has placed on us, we would pursue whatever our hearts craved and ignore others and the repercussions that are actions have on other individuals. Works Cited Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 1978. Print.
In this society, you can not do things alone where everything is done together with someone else and it goes against what the people believe in to do something alone. In this world you can not do whatever you like because everyone does the same as you- what you are told to do and if you disobey, things go wrong.
The idea that society, which is created by people, can in turn act upon people is a difficult concept for humans to grasp. Instead, it is easier for humans to realize that actions happen by forces external to themselves and...
Dunnell believed that evolutionary biology is a better method to explain evolution in cultural anthropology and archaeology rather than cultural evolution. The main problem with biological evolution is the dilemma of altruistic behavior in humans, which is the exact opposite of natural selection. Dunnell states that altruistic behavior is “the ultimate of the selfish principles” (Dunnell 1996: 26). The original solution to the issue of altruistic behavior was thought to be to change the scale of which natural selection works from that of the individual to the group. However, Dunnell gives three reasons why this change usually would not work. First, the individual, not the group, is the mean by which the reproductivity occurs. Second, the individual is the mean by which observable characteristics show themselves. Finally, changes in higher levels of ranking in society, such as that of the group, are too slow for ...
the laws of man and kept in check by society's own norms. The human struggle to
4) In Defense of Selfish Genes , Dawkins refute to claims made about his theory by Mary Midgely
In reality, the complete civilization is compelled by some inside dynamism that has no commander. All actions are under full observation, others make all judgements, but no one is in control. In this society, the law entails seamless conformism. Everyone are retold that, “Routine flawless is flawless routine” (Ripp, 2001). The people are programmed with the belief in electrical resistance, and this resistance is a persistent cue that independence is incorrect and all people are made for the multitudes. A society no longer compelled by the aspiration to create happiness for its people, but the want to be
The metaphor behind Dawkins' theory can best be described by his opening statement: "we are survival machines-robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes" (Barlow 193). Dawkins links the natural behavior of unconscious bunches of nucleic acid (genes) to human behavior and personality by calling them "selfish." His use of this term conjures up the image of a separate individual, capable of making decisions to help its own good and disregarding our needs. By calling human beings "survival machines" and "robots," Dawkins suggests some serious moral implications regarding our existence. If we were just robots, it would seem that we would be no longer responsible for our actions, as people could attribute all evil to the gene programmers who created these robots. Also, if our primary purpose were to serve as a "survival machine" for something else, life would seem insignificant. John Maynard Smith writes that Dawkins' book is just about evolution, and "not about morals . . . or about the human sciences" (195). However, the attempt to disengage the selfish gene theory from its moral implications is seriously undermined by Dawkins' metaphors.
Sigmund Freud once said: “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility”. Humans are by nature selfish and cruel, but conceal their inner desires and act in ways accepted by society. When all traces of civil society disappear, humans are prone to express their nature to it’s fullest and act impulsively, unless they possess a strong enough conscience to override it. According to Sigmund Freud, this impulsiveness, it’s opposing force of reason and the combination of the two represent the three main aspects of human nature, commonly referred to
Richard Dawkin’s selfish gene theory, portrays the idea that the higher two or more individuals are genetically related, the more logical it is for them to interact selflessly with one another. Under Dawkin’s theory, the assistance from a homosexual sibling nurturing a heterosexual sibling’s child can be supported by the selfish gene theory, because the two siblings would have similar genetics and the offspring of one sibling would as well inherit the corresponding gene from the other sibling. Together, both siblings would follow the theory and its prominent proposition of implementing actions that in final results would help the survival of their family genes. The action of taking care of the next generation accomplishes this intention. Those
Charles Darwin published his On Origin of Species in 1859. By 1870, Darwin’s theory of evolution was widely accepted as fact (van Wyhe, n.d.). This was no easy feat, Darwin was able to provide ample evidence from his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, Darwin successfully implanted an idea. That idea took root and expanded into a profound science. The spread of ideas is at the very heart of civilization. Some ideas survive and thrive, while others wither and die on the vine. It was Richard Dawkins who pioneered the science behind the spread of ideas, and it is to him that those who count on the spread of their ideas, such as Jonathan Kozol, pay deference.
For this area, we shall use David Wallace’s commencement address, where he gives the examples of “food shopping and being stuck in traffic” (Wallace). We learn for this address that we tend to have this conception that we are the center of the world, and everyone is revolving around us. Thanks to this concept we tend to get annoyed when people or things get in our way like traffic, or other people in line at the grocery store. However, Wallace pointed out a good point, what if we started to realize that “we are not the center of the world and that rather we might be in the way of someone else” (Wallace). Then we tend to start not getting so easily angry and things that originally annoyed us are now, not as bothersome as before. Plus, we also might start to be polite to people, maybe if we see an elderly person waiting in line, we would let them go before us, or even help them put their bags in their car. We might also start caring about other people, give the homeless person on the corner of the city block a bottle of water and maybe something to eat. If we weren’t so selfish would we have world hunger? Its estimated that the richest people in the world could easily end world hunger… yet why don’t
Creationism is a Bible–based view of human origin that states humans were created in their current form and have not changed, or evolved, throughout the years. However the belief that our species has changed over time to suit our environment is considered evolution. As both sides possess strong evidence for their conclusions, the debate that stemmed many years ago, even before
The concept of human nature has been theorized and debated repeatedly by philosophers throughout history; contrasting arguments regarding whether or not human beings are intrinsically competitive, or compassionate have been put forth by Thomas Hobbes and Peter Kropotkin. Understanding human nature is important in order to properly understand why human beings behave in the manner that they do, and whether or not all people instinctively are made to think similarly. Being equipped with this knowledge can allow for one to better understand events in history and different aspects of life, such as politics.
Richard Dawkins, an English evolutionary biologist and writer, is well known for his book The Selfish Gene. Published in 1967, his book provides a distinct view on the process of natural selection. Dawkins’ controversial selfish gene theory focuses on genes as the basis for evolution. It has received much criticism, however it contributed to a new way of viewing evolution based on genes. In Dawkins and the Selfish Gene, Ed Sexton provides an explanation for Dawkins’ commonly misinterpreted gene theory.
Darwinism is a scientific explanation originated by Charles Darwin, which uses evolution to explain diversity on earth (Lennox). In its simplest explanation, Darwinism can be understood to be survival of the fittest. The concept behind this is that the fittest of a species will survive, often due to evolutionary advantages, leading to changes within a species to effectively adapt to the species’ environment. For example, a bird with a long bill is able to reach nectar in a flower. Due to this ability, the birds with the longest bills will survive, while those with shorter bills will not survive. Since the birds with the longer bills survive, they breed with other birds with long bills, leading to the bird’s adaptation to needing a longer bill