“A book (1976) by the biologist Richard Dawkins (b. 1941) that popularized the evolutionary theory that living organisms are primarily the means by which genes perpetuate themselves. This helped to explain the continuing existence of characteristics that do not necessarily benefit an individual organism. The book did much to popularize the field of sociobiology.
‘They are in you and me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence…they go by the name of genes, and we are their survival machines.'”
Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.
Mark's Text Terminal 