The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
- ISBN-10
- 0192860887
- ISBN-13
- 9780192860880
- Series
- The Extended Phenotype
- Category
- Evolution
- Pages
- 307
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1982
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press, USA
- Author
- Richard Dawkins
Description
People commonly view evolution as a process of competition between individuals--known as "survival of the fittest"--with the individual representing the "unit of selection." Richard Dawkins offers a controversial reinterpretation of that idea in The Extended Phenotype, now being reissued to coincide with the publication of the second edition of his highly-acclaimed The Selfish Gene. He proposes that we look at evolution as a battle between genes instead of between whole organisms. We can then view Nanges in phenotypes--the end products of genes, like eye color or leaf shape, which are usually considered to increase the fitness of an individual--as serving the evolutionary interests of genes. Dawkins makes a convincing case that considering one's body, personality, and environment as a field of combat in a kind of "arms race" between genes fighting to express themselves on a strand of DNA can clarify and extend the idea of survival of the fittest. This influential and controversial book illuminates the complex world of genetics in an engaging, lively manner.
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Other editions
-
- 1999
- 313 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press, USA
-
- 2016-09-14
- 284 pages
- Ebook
- Oxford University Press
-
- 2016-08-21
- 496 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press
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