The Selfish Gene
Quick Summary
Richard Dawkins's 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, argues that evolution is driven by genes, not individuals or species. Genes are seen as the primary agents, using the bodies of living organisms to ensure their own survival and propagation.123
Dawkins also introduced the concept of the "meme" in this work, defining it as a unit of cultural transmission. Memes are ideas, behaviors, or styles that spread from person to person within a culture, analogous to how genes spread biologically. This concept has since developed into the field of memetics. The book's accessible style made complex evolutionary concepts understandable to a broad audience.42
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