List About Books The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
| Title | : | The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene |
| Author | : | Richard Dawkins |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 336 pages |
| Published | : | August 5th 1999 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published 1982) |
| Categories | : | Science. Nonfiction. Biology. Evolution. Genetics |
Richard Dawkins
Paperback | Pages: 336 pages Rating: 4.09 | 7940 Users | 166 Reviews
Relation Toward Books The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
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 changes 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.
Define Books As The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
| Original Title: | The Extended Phenotype: The Gene as the Unit of Selection |
| ISBN: | 0192880519 (ISBN13: 9780192880512) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating About Books The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
Ratings: 4.09 From 7940 Users | 166 ReviewsAssess About Books The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene
Richard Dawkins here explains his view that the largest unit on which natural selection can reasonably be said to operate is the gene rather than the organism, and explores this ideas consequences for the standard conceptions of organisms, groups, and selection. The motif he introduces to show this best is a Necker Cube, which is a simple line drawing of all the edges of a cube: when looked at for the first time, it seems to be an overhead view of the cube. But with some visual effort, you canIn this book, Dawkins picks up his selfish gene theme and extends its influence to organs and systems within the body and then to the external environment. In doing so, Dawkins never strays from his central themes: Genes are in charge, pursuing their self-interest; the body and its behavior is their vehicle; and the germ-line replicator is the unit of selection. Dawkins argues* that the gene replicators first begin to transcend their gene-only behavior within the body when they cooperate with
"[The] 'central theorem' of the extended phenotype: An animal's behaviour tends to maximize the survival of the genes 'for' that behaviour, whether or not those genes happen to be in the body of the particular animalperforming it." p233Dawkin's theory of the extended phenotype is given full expression in this his self-proclaimed favorite work. It is only now that I realize the publication of The Extended Phenotype (TEP) was in 1982, a mere three years after my favorite work of his The Selfish
A wonderufl book for anyone interested in biology or genetics. It talks about how natural selection can be altered and produce very shocking results. It explains how the peacock got it's tail and the interesting train of between being desirable as a mate and being able to survive. It's a facinating book.
I have always had a passion for biology, and there's just something about Dawkins prose that makes it incredibly appealing. He offers a looking glass that enables me to make sense (or at least convince myself that I am making sense) of many of the things that I can see going on in the world around me. And that, in a situation where it is increasingly hard to make sense of anything, comes as a welcome relief.
If youre keen on understanding the marvelous artifacts of animal intelligence, this is a must read. Have you ever, while plumb blown in the creek on lead-tainted moonshine pissed from a noisy radiator, grew irate while watching a spider craft a beautiful web and systematically took a sledge hammer to all the toilets in your house, while screaming: Competence without comprehension makes me sick!? Well, that mightve been a tad bit of an overreaction, even if your heart was in the right place. So I
0 Comments:
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.