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Richard Dawkins wrote The Selfish Gene in 1976. This book discusses the ideas of evolution and how the trait of being selfish is passed on. He then goes on to mention the possibility of overcoming these selfish tendencies.
Dawkins states that the purpose of his book is to “examine the biology of selfishness and altruism”. From the very outset, Dawkins makes it clear that he is not concerned about the various mental states which may affect human behavior, but only with our actual physical behavior in order to understand how such behavior affects the “survival prospects of the presumed altruist and the prospects of the presumed beneficiary”. Thus, Dawkins’s examination of selfish and altruistic behavior wants to focus solely on how physical actions will have a net positive or negative impact on the evolution of the species.

"11. Memes: the new replicators

So far, I have not talked much about man in particular, though I have not deliberately excluded him either. Part of the reason I have used the term `survival machine' is that `animal' would have left out plants and, in some people's minds, humans. The arguments I have put forward should, prima facie, apply to any evolved being. If a species is to be excepted, it must be for good reasons. Are there any good reasons for supposing our own species to be unique? I believe the answer is yes."

Richard Dawkins

Clinton Richard Dawkins, Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) (born 1941) is a British ethologist and evolutionary biologist. He is a fellow of New College, Oxford, and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Undrstanding of Science from 1995 until 2008.

Dawkins came to prominence with his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, which popularised the gene-centered view of evolution and introduced the term meme. In 1982, he introduced into evolutionary biology an influential concept, presented in his book The Extended Phenotype, that the phenotypic effects of a gene are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the environment, including the bodies of other organisms.

Dawkins is an atheist and supporter of the Brights movement, and is well-known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. 

Личен сайт: http://richarddawkins.net/