The Selfish Gene

A book by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, first published in 1976. In "The Selfish Gene," Dawkins introduces a new perspective on evolution, focusing on genes as the primary units of natural selection, rather than species or individuals. The central argument of the book is that the behavior of living organisms is driven by the goal of maximizing the survival chances of their genes. The book also discusses topics such as altruism, social behavior, and memes—units of cultural information. "The Selfish Gene" has had a significant impact on popularizing evolutionary biology and remains an important scientific work.