Selfishness Lies in our Gene

 Personally, Biology is not even close to being one of my favorite subjects, and when the book The Selfish Gene was handed out goose bumps ran down my arms. But then again, Dawkins use of metaphors and allegory did a better job at explaining genetics than my Biology teacher ever did. He does an exceptional job comparing chromosomes to 46 volumes of books, genes to pages, and the nucleolus to book cases. It allowed me to interpret the text by relating those complicated terms to things I encounter on a daily basis. Obviously, it is very different from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities. When I am reading The Selfish Gene my purpose is not to decode the author’s hidden message towards society, but instead I am applying what I have learned in DNA replication and evolution to understand Dawkin’s concepts. In page 16 Dawkins states: “But let copies made from other copies, which in their turn were made from other copies, and errors will start to become cumulative and serious”. The author never mentions the name of the actual process that is taking place, but as a reader I know he is referring to specific mutations in DNA.

In chapter 3, Immortal Coils, Dawkin explains the reason he decided to name the book The Selfish Gene. How can a gene be actually selfish? It all starts with the definition of the gene, “…it is defined as any portion of chromosomal material that potentially lasts for enough generations to serve as a unit of natural selection”(28). In other words, the gene seeks longevity in the form of copies. It is willing to fight its way through using natural selection, in order to obtain the best traits and characteristics that will ensure the organisms survival. So yes, the gene is in fact selfish, for it looks out only for its self-interest and believes in survival of the fittest. The gene is able to manipulate the body, jumping from one generation to the next, and towards the end when the body is dying, it is already safe and sound in the organism of the offspring. Another example of selfishness comes from the mutator genes. Their job is to copy errors in the rest of the genes in order to wipe out all competition. This specific gene knows that the disadvantage of one gene means an advantage to itself, and it opens the door for it to finally spread through the gene pool. It is hard to think of something so remote and complex like the gene to be actually selfish. I usually relate selfishness to human nature, but I stand corrected by Richard Dawkin’s theory.