Videos

Richard Dawkins – The Selfish Gene explained



The Royal Institution

In this short clip Professor Richard Dawkins discusses how he arrived at the idea of the “selfish gene” — the basis of his seminal 1976 publication.

You can buy Richard’s book “The Selfish Gene” on Amazon – https://geni.us/lzCwnc

Dawkins explains how the genes that are around today — in us and every other living organism — come from an unbroken line of successful ancestors. Describing the body as a “survival machine” for the self-replicating information it contains, he explains how the genes that are good at making these bodies can therefore persist through countless generations, meaning successful genes are potentially immortal. It was this inspiring vision, along with the work of W. D. Hamilton, which motivated his research in this field.

To hear more about Dawkins’ life and the events and experiences which shaped his thinking, watch the full event ‘An Appetite for Wonder’, complete with audience Q&A.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omsUZ3u5TX4

The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science
and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution
and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/
Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy
Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter

Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won’t cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.

Source

Similar Posts

39 thoughts on “Richard Dawkins – The Selfish Gene explained
  1. "An individual organism is a throwaway survival machine"

    This is what he says to make himself feel better for not getting laid.

  2. It seems to me that natural selection is a beautiful thing, but at the same time it's absolutely evil (unintentionally obviously). I mean how many organisms have starved to death just so that we could inhale and exhale for roughly three score and ten years? It's a scary thought I think. It probably would have been better if life never got going at all, or at least didn't go so far as to experience things like pain, disease, starvation, etc.

  3. This is why moral nihilism is the logical stance if you take a scientific stance on morality. You can speak in terms of the advantages or disadvantages of a behavior insofar as it concerns the organism’s ability to reproduce, but not “right” or “wrong.” And even successful replication isn’t “right” as it’s an arguably fruitless aim in the final analysis given the eventual heat death of the universe. 🙃
    Someone offer an alternative viewpoint that stands against this, I’m curious.

  4. I still don't get purpose of passing the genes. I would die anyway. Some people say we pass our genes because we fear death and our child would be the only living achievement that would pass genes again and that could live forever. But maybe our "selfish" genes force us to replicate them without our awareness? What is the value of replicating genes from perspective of gene?

  5. Once I realized that this is the ‘meaning of life’, it has been impossible for me to justify bringing a person into existence. All one has to do is look at the millions of people who are in great states of suffering to come to the conclusion that it isn’t worth the risk

  6. The ego is the reflection in the mirror. Example: if one believes that self is an evil sinner, one will be certain to see that reflection in the mirror. And if one believes that one has a soul that is saved and certain to feel eternal bliss in a hereafter … one will see that reflection in the mirror. The ego is always hallucinating. “We are all hallucinating all the time, including right now. It’s just that when we agree about our hallucinations, we call that reality.” Anil Seth … neuroscientist.

  7. Information (a state) and mortality exist in different domains. The information does not survive. Information cant be passed, it does not flow and it is for sure not immortal!

  8. Yeah when a guy goes up on stage and makes an absolute statement to immediately revoke his absolute statement you can tell not even he knows what he's talking about

Comments are closed.

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com