The selfish gene is one of the most successful science metaphors ever invented. Unfortunately, it’s wrong
...
[The] bug’s DNA — the genetic book with millions of letters that form
the instructions for building and operating a grasshopper — gets reread
so that the very same book becomes the instructions for operating a
locust. Even as one animal becomes the other, as Jekyll becomes Hyde,
its genome stays unchanged. Same genome, same individual, but, I think
we can all agree, quite a different beast.
...
This is all very interesting...And I think Dawkins' concept fails for a different reason as I wrote
here a little while ago:
Dawkin's [sic] therefore somehow posits an ability -- free will -- that he
would say we have never exercised to date. Moreover, his entire premise
is based on a metaphysical extraction of an emergent property
(“selfishness” of a gene) to an organism. Emergent properties of
course
are something reductionism of Dawkins sort would not countenance, yet
are the basis for his micro theory and his expansion to macro theory.
(I'm gonna quote myself more often...It's easy and since I am always right...(Self quoting makes me feel like Al Gore too! Now if Al Jazeera would just kick out 500 million for Books Inq. and I could persuade Frank to give me a large cut I'd really be in Gore-land! Hmm...but I guess I need that 10,000 sq. ft mansion and personal jet and "concern" about everyone else having too big of a carbon footprint too.))
I would split the take four ways.
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