Is there a Selfish Gene?
-
- Posts: 88
- Joined: June 19th, 2013, 7:31 pm
Is there a Selfish Gene?
- A_Seagull
- Posts: 949
- Joined: November 29th, 2012, 10:56 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Heraclitus
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
The point of the "ultimate rationale for our existence" is that some genes survive and reproduce and others do not, no further explanation for their existence is required.
As far as the question "Is there a Selfish Gene?", that is a different question. Though the answer is again "yes". It would seem that the people's attribute of selfishness or not is one that is inherent rather than learnt, in which case there will be some gene that codes for that inherent property which some people will have and others not. This could be called (despite not being particularly identified) a 'selfish 'gene'.
- Misty
- Premium Member
- Posts: 5934
- Joined: August 10th, 2011, 8:13 pm
- Location: United States of America
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
The eyes can only see what the mind has, is, or will be prepared to comprehend.
I am Lion, hear me ROAR! Meow.
- Philosophy Explorer
- Posts: 2116
- Joined: May 25th, 2013, 8:41 pm
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
PhilX
-
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: August 21st, 2012, 7:26 pm
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
I suppose we are selfish to a certain extent and in being so, our genes must be included.
-
- Posts: 75
- Joined: November 21st, 2012, 7:21 pm
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
Of course there is! A Selfish Gene acts for it's own interests instead of doing what is best for the environment as a whole.SoylentGreen said, Is there such a thing as a "Selfish" gene
Humans are not the only forces with the ability to behave selfishly.Isn't this personification run amuk?
If the survival instinct is selfish, then the genes that caused it are as well.Misty said; The selfish gene is the survival instinct. Selfishness is another topic.
-
- Posts: 1500
- Joined: December 22nd, 2013, 4:57 pm
- Favorite Philosopher: Eric Hoffer
- Location: California, US
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
As to whether there is a gene that promotes selfishness, no, not really. Every organism must be designed so that it will be better equipped to survive and reproduce, and so any genetic mutation that makes an individual vulnerable to death or disability is likely to be eliminated. Sharing one's food with another could lead you to starve, so we are wired to protect ourselves and work for our own benefit above everything else. So in general we are programmed to work in our own interests, in most cases. That's selfishness.
But we are also capable of cooperation, generosity, and altruism - and why that is true is confusing to some. In fact, I don't believe Dawkins to this day accepts that something called group selection is responsible for those "good" qualities. The idea of group selection is that during the early days of our species and ancestor species, we were hunter-gatherers in small groups. Some of those groups, because of chance and because of shared DNA among families in the group, had much higher degrees of empathy and a sense of group responsibility than others. And those groups with more empathy cooperated better and therefore survived better, while those group who were more selfish tended to die off. Eventually the genes within those groups with an optimum degree of cooperation came to predominate. So that's why we care about other people, can form cooperative communities, and have a sense of morality.
I think that there are hundreds or thousands of genes that in some way promote selfishness in certain situations, and hundreds or thousands of genes that in some way promote cooperation, by directing the development and connectivity of our brains, by creating our personalities, through processes which we're a long way from understanding.
-
- Posts: 88
- Joined: June 19th, 2013, 7:31 pm
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
-
- Posts: 30
- Joined: June 24th, 2014, 7:00 am
Re: Is there a Selfish Gene?
"Selfish Gene" is a metaphor. Dawkins tried to make people to look at our world from a new perspective. Similar 'libido' is another metaphor aiming to make us see the world from another perspective.SoylentGreen wrote:Richard Dawkins has a book, titled "The Selfish Gene." Is there such a thing as a "Selfish" gene. Isn't this personification run amuk? Genes are not simple structures, they are highly complex and varied, and from all I've read, there is no single, simple definition of a gene. Dawkins goes further with his comparable notion of "Memes" which are thoughts and ideas, and his intention here seems clear. He's attempting to push the boundaries of Darwinian evolution, so that it accounts for everything. As he states in his book, these selfish genes provide the "ultimate rationale for our existence." Is he justified in this bold claim? Or has he gone off the deep end?
2024 Philosophy Books of the Month
2023 Philosophy Books of the Month
Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023