The Selfish Gene

Title: The Selfish Gene
Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press 2005 (First published 1976)
Pages: 332
ISBN: 978-019-567344-9

Richard Dawkins is a noted biologist and popularizer of science. ‘Selfish Gene’ is one of his best sellers which has made a prominent presence among the literature at that time. The 1970s was the period of resurgence in the knowledge of genetics and popular interest had surged following the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA by Crick and Watson in 1953. Suddenly, the scientific landscape metamorphosed to open up a grand vista to biology. Scientists suddenly realised that they knew very little about genes and the role they play in animal lives. Such realizations had spawned great discoveries in the past and in this case, it was more so. Biology suddenly found itself respectable once again after enduring long centuries of junior role to Physics. Dawkins’ present work describes many of the nitty-gritty of evolution in detail and presents forceful arguments in favour of his selfish gene theory.

Long long ago, before any life-form emerged on earth, a replicator organism was produced due to random chemical reactions in the primordial soup which was energised by incessant lightnings. This was the precursor of the modern genetic material and it started replicating indiscriminately. Soon, the raw material of the soup began drying up and they were forced to evolve into discrete mechanisms to make the reproductive success an assured fact. The replicators created outward appearances of higher life forms which were actually machines created by the genes. Since genes were composed of millions of nucleotides and genes were copied to their offsprings, errors in copying which will inevitably creep up in a process so complex and huge, resulted in natural and random variations among offsprings. Natural selection trained its critical eye on these differences and weeded out unsuccessful variations. Thus evolution began its grinding journey.

The gene is defined as “any portion of chromosomal material that potentially lasts for enough generations to serve as a unit of natural selection” (p.28). There are two ways in which copying errors happen. One is called ‘crossing over’ which is caused by the crossing over some of the nucleotides of the parents to their offspring. The other is ‘point mutation’ which is caused by genuine failure of copying. Genes control every aspect of our lives by synthesizing protein molecules which in turn control animal processes directly. Hemoglobin and insulin are two of the well known proteins. Dawkins puts forward a novel theory of aging. He argues that our genome consists of genes which are expressed only in old age which then breaks down the normal metabolism. This is valid evolutionarily, as any other animal which doesn’t have these genes and which died young will not be able to pass over these genes to their offsprings. So, over time, these late acting genes evolved to account for the entirety of animal and plant lives. Every gene is selfish – not in the literary sense – but that they try to replicate as many times as possible, even at the cost of similar and competing genes. Even the altruism exhibited by some organisms are nothing but disguised ways of propagating genes of its own kind.

An index of relatedness between any two individuals in a particular species is defined and according to this principle, the relation between parents and offspring is 0.5 while that between siblings is 0.25. Since there is a greater relation in the first case, the attachment is stronger and genes are more likely to be related in it. Cheating among siblings is to be considered from this point of view. Many of the examples given in the book are directly concerned with several animal and insect species and should not be confused with human applications. Many examples show us the cruel aspect of nature and we can “catch nature, red in tooth and claw”.

In order to account for the human interactions which are tempered by culture and don’t obey the basic laws of nature, Dawkins puts forward the concept of ‘memes’. Meme (rhymed ‘crème’) is a replicating idea which grows and spreads from mind to mind similar to the propagation of genes. Evolutionary concepts applicable to genetics are also relevant in a limited sense to memes. Good memes travel far and wide to ever increasing audience and become embedded in the social psyche.

Even with all these refreshing and new ideas, the book is difficult to read and I couldn’t enjoy it. The introduction and establishment of the main idea of selfish gene is too lengthy, extending to page 50. Such a long argument is tiresome and we lose interest very soon. Since the book was first published in 1976 and several editions have appeared in between, many pieces of info are dated which the author has taken pains to correct in the notes at the end of the book which is quite large to become a nuisance and prevents the reader from following the main thread. Some notes run into several pages with superficial and lateral information. About 20% of the total pages are devoted to notes. Another drawback is that the book is too biological, in the sense that people who are more comfortable with other branches of science find it exceedingly difficult to follow the argument which is expressed in not too easy terms. The biological principles are too vague and hazy which can made to apply to both sides of the argument. Compared to the precise and sharp principles of Physics, these laws and theories make us laugh! The proofs are often computer simulations and rhetoric, to add to the humour!

Overall rating: 2 Star