Critique of Dawkins(USE AS GUIDE ONLY)

Critique of Dawkins(USE AS GUIDE ONLY)

Critique of Dawkins(USE AS GUIDE ONLY)

Preview document (2 of 10 pages)

Running Head: CRITIQUE OF DAWKINS
Critique of Dawkins
The University of Oklahoma
CRITIQUE OF DAWKINS
Critique of Dawkins
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist, ethologist and writer who is renowned for
his introduction of the “selfish-gene” theory and the term “meme” (Dawkins, 1989; Ridley,
2007). In 1976, Dawkins became famous when the book he wrote about his theories regarding
the “gene-centered view” of evolution was published under the title The Selfish Gene. This book
became extremely popular, causing almost instantaneous revolutions in the fields of evolution,
genetics and biology (Grafen & Ridley, 2006). While there are those who have found
controversy within its pages it still continues to be widely read, having been translated into more
than two dozen languages and selling millions of copies (Dawkins, 2006).
Without drifting away from the rudimentary principles of Darwin’s theory of

Natural Selection, Dawkins thought up a distinctive interpretation of how a species evolves
(Dawkins, 1989). This unique view, along with the theory that an organism exists for the
singular purpose of preserving and propagating the gene, are the foundation of Dawkins’
“selfish-gene” theory (Dawkins, 1989). It was this emphasis on the gene rather than the
individual that led to Dawkins’ rise to fame in several scientific fields, including biology and
genetics. Dawkins is also responsible for coming up with the term “meme,” to describe the
spread of culture and ideas that also evolve in ways similar to the gene (Dawkins, 1989). This
spawned the field of memetics, which has become the focus of many evolutionary studies
(Dawkins, 1989), but has also drawn criticism from a variety of academic sources.
The driving force behind Dawkins’ research into the selfish -gene was his desire to
develop a more detailed, to-the-point version of the gene’s-eye view of Darwinism than he

Angela K Harris
15 March 2014