EXTENDED SELFISH GENE, THE

The Selfish Gene is a classic exposition of evolutionary thought. In it Professo
r Dawkins articulates a gene's eye view of evolution - a view giving centre stag
e to these persistent units of information, and in which organisms can be seen a
s vehicles for the replication of genes. The book provoked widespread and heated
debate, which in part led Dawkins to write The Extended Phenotype, in which he
gave a deeper clarification of the central concept of the gene as the unit of se
lection, as well as contributing his own development of this insight.