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'''''The Selfish Gene''''' is a book on [[evolution]] by [[Richard Dawkins]], [[1976 in literature|published in 1976]]. It builds upon the principal theory of [[George C. Williams]]'s first book ''[[Adaptation and Natural Selection]]''. Dawkins used the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the [[gene-centered view of evolution|gene-centred view of evolution]] as opposed to the views focused on the organism and the [[Group selection|group]], popularising ideas developed during the 1960s by [[W. D. Hamilton]] and others. From the gene-centred view follows that the more two individuals are genetically related, the more sense (at the level of the genes) it makes for them to behave selflessly with each other. Therefore the concept is especially good at explaining many forms of [[altruism]]
An organism is expected to evolve to maximise its [[inclusive fitness]]—the number of copies of its genes passed on globally (rather than by a particular individual). As a result, populations will tend towards an [[evolutionarily stable strategy]]. The book also coins the term ''[[meme]]'' for a unit of human [[cultural evolution]] analogous to the gene, suggesting that such "selfish" replication may also model human culture, in a different sense. [[Memetics]] has become the subject of many studies since the publication of the book.
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